An Upstate man is set spend the next year four-plus years in federal prison for his role in an international fraud scheme. Jeel Patel of Duncan was sentenced in federal court to charges of Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
Court documents say Patel was part of a phone scam that targeted elderly people, by having conspirators impersonate FBI and DEA agents. One victims wired the money, couriers like Patel would take a portion of the money and send the rest back to call center operators in India.
Jeel Patel was said to be working for a 28 year old man known as "Sunny" Patel of Richmond, Virginia. He was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison, for his role in the scheme that took over 120 victims for a total of more than 3 million dollars.
The federal charges stem from a 2020 case that was worked by the Union County Sheriff's Office.
