On April 6, 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Michael Galanis pled guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Galanis conspired with others to automatically forward calls to numbers used by individuals impersonating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees who then extorted money from victims within the United States. Galanis was indicted on January 16, 2020.

According to the court documents, from March 2016, and continuing thereafter until August 2017, Galanis conspired with others to activate Subscriber Identity Module cards and program prepaid cell phones to automatically forward calls to Voice over Internal Protocol (VoIP) phone numbers. These calls were routed to IRS impersonators who left voicemails instructing victims to contact the IRS at specific phone numbers. When victims called these numbers, their calls were automatically forwarded to the VoIP phone numbers then routed to the IRS impersonators. Victims were told they owed money to the IRS and instructed to wire money or purchase iTunes and retail store gift cards to pay their alleged tax debt. Galanis and his coconspirators defrauded victims of approximately $89,000.

If convicted, Galanis could receive not more than 20 years' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and a $100 assessment.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: W.D. Pa. Change of Plea, filed April 6, 2021; W.D. Pa. Change of Plea Hrg., filed April 6, 2021; W.D. Pa Indict. Memo, filed January 16, 20201; and W.D. Pa. Indict., filed January 16, 2020.