On December 17, 2021, in the Eastern District of New York, Ajay Sharma, owner and director of an India-based telemarketing call center, was sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent scheme directed at thousands of United States citizens. Sharma previously pled guilty to the charge on November 30, 2020.

According to the court documents, between approximately January 2016 and January 2019, Sharma organized and led a telemarketing scheme through his company, APS Technology. Operating from India, Sharma’s telemarketing company targeted victims in the United States and falsely claimed to represent the Internal Revenue Service, and other Federal agencies. The victims were informed they owed a sum of money to the United States Government and they would be arrested if the debts were not promptly paid. After the victims wired payments to bank accounts opened for the purposes of the scheme, the funds were withdrawn and laundered through additional bank accounts. The scheme is estimated to have netted over $2 million from victims across the United States.

Sharma was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $3,266,714 in restitution, forfeit $1,005,421, and pay a special assessment fee of $100.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D.N.Y., Sentencing, filed December 17, 2021; E.D.N.Y., Indict., filed January 17, 2019; E.D.N.Y., Plea, filed November 30, 2020; and E.D.N.Y., Press Release, published November 30, 2020.