GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) A West Michigan man was sentenced to eight years in prison for an international telemarketing scheme that scammed primarily elderly people nationwide out of more than half a million dollars combined.
The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan—Mark Totten—said Irfan Gill, 63 of Portage, was sentenced on mail fraud and money laundering. Gill was also ordered to pay $591,980.27 in restitution to victims of the case.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice; the trial evidence suggested that Gill worked with a call center in Pakistan between “at least” June 2018 and March 2022 that swindled over 1,500 people into paying a total of $560,000 combined for cable and satellite television upgrades and subscription discounts they never received.
Callers in Pakistan persuaded callers to mail checks and money orders to post office boxes in Portage. In some cases, they threatened to cut off the victims’ television services if they did not comply, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Gill deposited the victims’ payments into bank accounts with the names of fake cable and satellite TV businesses including: Cable Upgrade, D Network, Direct Network, Dish, Dish Upgrade and Sky Satellite.
Gill matched specific victims to specific overseas callers and calculated how much money to pocket versus the amount to wire to Pakistan. He also avoided getting caught by opening several bank accounts and post office boxes for his bogus companies—and by trying to convince bank investigators his companies were “legitimate”, prosecutors said.
The jury convicted Gill with seven counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering in connection with his telemarketing scheme.
He did not report taxes or pay taxes on the fraud proceeds, prosecutors said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he allegedly obtained over $20,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans for a cable and satellite television company that did not exist.
“Irfan Gill preyed on older Americans to pad his own pocket, leaving victims scared and ruined,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in the release. “Every day these scams happen across America and target vulnerable members of our communities. We’re fighting to hold these criminals accountable, but above all want to prevent these crimes."
The FBI provided the following tips to protect yourself from telemarketing schemes:
-Be wary of unsolicited phone calls, e-mails and mailings
-Never give away or send sensitive information to unverified people or businesses. This includes your birthday, account numbers, passwords, and credit or debit card numbers.
-Resist the pressure to act. Scammers create a false sense of urgency to lure people into immediate action.
-If you sense a scam attempt, end all communication with the scammer right away.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Townshend and Stephen Baker prosecuted it.
"This individual’s fraudulent activities inflicted untold financial and emotional distress on the victims, and today’s sentencing reaffirms our commitment to protecting the public from such schemes,” Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Detroit Division, said in the release. “We will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of justice for those who would prey upon the vulnerable.”