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April 23, 2020

Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Connection With IRS Telephone Scam

On March 4, 2020, in the Northern District of Georgia, Joish Patel pled guilty to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud U.S. citizens.

According to the court documents, Patel used a call center in connection with a scheme to defraud U.S. residents by misleading them into sending money in connection with several different scams. In one of the scams, Patel and his coconspirators impersonated Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officers to defraud U.S. residents by misleading them into believing that they owed money to the IRS and would be arrested if they did not pay immediately. At least 160 victims received calls during which they were defrauded. The victims sent money via money transmitters such as Western Union, MoneyGram, and Ria Financial. As part of the scheme, Patel retrieved more than $150,000.00 in cash payments of scammed funds from money transmitters using various aliases.

Patel may face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years' imprisonment for wire fraud. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss, whichever is greater. The defendant agreed to make full restitution of $158,911.99 for distribution to the victims. Sentencing in this matter is scheduled for June 4, 2020.

    Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from publicly available documents, filed in the N.D.Ga., as follows: Indictment, filed Mar. 5, 2019; and Plea Agreement, filed Mar. 4, 2020.