24 sentenced in international call center scheme that bilked victims of millions

July 18, 2018

Two dozen people have been sentenced for aiding in a massive call center scheme centered in India that tricked vulnerable people in the U.S. into giving up hundreds of millions of dollars, culminating what Attorney General Jeff Sessions praised as “first-ever” multi-jurisdiction takedown of India’s “call center scam industry.”

Callers used illegally obtained personal information and posed as U.S. government officials, convincing victims they needed to pay taxes or fines. Other participants helped collect and launder the money.

The perpetrators, who got sentences of up to 20 years, included five people in Texas, four of them in the Houston region...