EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — An illegal immigrant from India residing in the United States was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement in a fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims across Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, defrauding them of more than $400,000.
Nirav B. Patel, 44, was convicted in February by a federal jury on charges including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and illegal entry into the U.S. Evidence presented at trial showed Patel participated in an imposter scam in which fraudsters posed as government officials to deceive elderly victims into withdrawing life savings under false pretenses.
The scheme involved sending text messages and emails warning victims that their Amazon accounts had been compromised. Victims who responded were directed to individuals impersonating federal agents who claimed the victims were targets of identity theft. They were urged to transfer funds to fraudulent U.S. Treasury or Federal Trade Commission trust accounts for safekeeping. Instead, the money was stolen and funneled to accounts controlled by scammers in India…