Fake federal agent destroys retirees’ lives with scam, feds say. He’s going to prison
Retirees were tricked out of their savings in a telemarketing scheme involving fake federal agents, authorities say.
In one example, officials say a retired Massachusetts nurse was swindled out of over $900,000 in funds from her bank and retirement accounts. She thought her identity had been stolen and that she needed to transfer her money to new accounts — accounts owned by fraudsters pretending to work for agencies like the Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Justice.
“Because an elderly retired victim ... made the very unfortunate mistake of answering a seemingly urgent phone call in April 2018, her dreams of a peaceful and comfortable retirement with her husband have been completely destroyed,” a federal prosecutor said in court records.
Now a suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to federal prison, according to a July 29 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Hirenkumar P. Chaudhari, 29, was ordered to serve three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to money laundering last year, officials said. He’s also been ordered to pay $6,500 in restitution to the nurse after withdrawing some of her transferred funds.
In a statement to McClatchy News, defense attorney Frank Himel said Chaudhari is a “respectful, intelligent, young man, and he was extremely remorseful of his conduct.”
“He will serve about 6 more months and then he will be deported and sent to India,” he continued. “His mother and father are there and they will be very happy to have him home. I am confident that Hiren will be able to rebuild his life and be a successful, law abiding person.”
In Chaudhari’s sentencing memorandum, Himel argued for a shorter sentence for several reasons, including that Chaudhari made a $51,000 donation to The Arbuda Hindu temple in Illinois with some of his “ill-begotten gains” because “it was a good thing.”
Prosecutors argued for more time in prison, adding that other victims across the country were scammed out of their savings “because they believed they were communicating with legitimate federal agents who claimed that the victims’ money was at risk and needed to be moved.”
“While there are no doubt numerous individuals involved in this conspiracy, defendant played a pivotal role aimed at defrauding a highly vulnerable population,” officials said.
Authorities say Chaudhari used a fake Indian passport, false name and wrong address to open U.S. bank accounts that were used to collect the money transferred by victims of the scheme.
“The defendant played a pivotal role in a telemarketing scheme by laundering money received directly from elderly victims,” U.S. Attorney John Lausch said in a statement. “We will continue to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable anyone who attempts to scam elderly victims out of a peaceful retirement.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Fake federal agent destroys retirees’ lives with scam, feds say. He’s going to prison."