AG Bill Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray announced this week that an unprecedented number of cases of fraud against senior Americans have been charged or prosecuted and announced a hotline where you can report suspected fraud and help them catch more of the crooks, often foreign crooks, stealing from older Americans.
From CBS News (good for them because I have seen very little elsewhere about this story from Tuesday):
Barr announces more than 400 charged for defrauding seniors over past year
Washington — More than 400 people have been charged with defrauding seniors out of more than $1 billion over the past year, the Justice Department revealed Tuesday. Attorney General William Barr announced the charges in Tampa on Tuesday at the Sun City Center Community Hall for seniors.
Barr explained why this issue has personal meaning for him. “I myself was used as a lure in a scam,” the attorney general told retirees. Before he became the nation’s 85th attorney general, the 1991 official photograph of Barr from his first stint in in the job in George H.W. Bush’s administration was used by scammers offering phony federal grants in exchange for money. “It was really heart-wrenching. People called in desperate hope that this was real,” Barr explained. “That crystalized the issue for me, and when I got to the department I wanted to make sure that this was one of our highest priorities to go after this.”
Barr has made elder fraud one of his top priorities as attorney general, and Tuesday’s announcement nearly doubles last year’s prosecutions.
Every U.S. attorney’s office across the country participated in either prosecuting or conducting proactive community outreach as part of the department’s sweep.
[….]
Scams targeting the elderly are usually foreign-based, like the “Nigerian prince” scheme or robocalls involving the impersonation of a U.S. government official who demands money from targets.
“The charges announced today demonstrate the great success of the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Forceto identify and stop those who are targeting our senior communities from overseas,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement. “We’re committed to continuing our efforts to keep our elderly citizens safe, whether they’re being targeted door-to-door, over the phone, or online.”
And, see theFBI Press Releaseon the announcement which includes a link to an interactive US map so you can see where some of the 400 cases are being prosecuted.
As I have said on innumerable occasions the President should be highlighting this fraud-busting work of his Justice Department, like this Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, at every one of his rallies.
Note to PayPal donors! I want to thank all of you who send me donations for my work via PayPal. I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness. However, PayPal is making changes to their terms of service and I’ve decided to opt-out beginning on March 10, 2020.
He was on the run and we tracked him down in Singapore.
If you’ve ever gotten one of those calls where someone tells you they are from the IRS and you owe money, surely you hung up! However thousands of gullible people did not hang up and sent this Indian crook their hard-earned money.
Well one more of the international crooks ripping us off will now be behind bars.
Thanks to reader Charles for tipping me off about this story, hereis the US Justice Departmentnews about Hitesh Madhubhai Patel aka Hitesh Hinglaj, 43, of Ahmedabad, India:
(By the way, I like the fact that we are now seeing mention of the nationality of crooks more prominently mentioned sparing us from having to spend time playing the secret decoder ring game with the criminal’s name.)
Indian national convicted of role in call center scam that victimized thousands in the U.S.
HOUSTON – An Indian national has entered a guilty plea for his role in operating and funding India-based call centers which defrauded thousands of victims out of millions of dollars between 2013 and 2016.
Hitesh Madhubhai Patel aka Hitesh Hinglaj, 43, of Ahmedabad, India, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as well as a general conspiracy to commit identification fraud, access device fraud, money laundering and to impersonate a federal officer or employee.
“Hitesh Patel played a prominent role in this massive, India-based fraud scheme that bilked vulnerable Americans out of millions of dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This important resolution would not have occurred without the assistance of our Singaporean colleagues, to whom we extend our deep appreciation.”
Patel and his conspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which employees from call centers in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated officials from the IRS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). They also engaged in other telephone call scams designed to defraud victims throughout the United States. U.S. victims were threatened with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay alleged monies owed to the government.
Those who fell victim to the scammers were instructed how to provide payment, including by purchasing general purpose reloadable (GPR) cards or wiring money. Upon payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of “runners” based in the United States to liquidate and launder the fraudulently-obtained funds.
In his plea, Patel admitted to operating and funding several India-based call centers from which the fraud schemes were perpetrated, including organizational co-defendant call center HGLOBAL. Patel frequently corresponded by email and WhatsApp messaging with co-defendants to exchange credit card numbers, telephone scam scripts, deposit slips, payment information, call center operations information, instructions and bank account information. The scripts included impersonation of IRS, USCIS, Canada Revenue Agency and Australian Tax Office personnel as well as payday loan, U.S. government grant and debt collection fraud schemes.
Patel also received monthly income and expense reports to his personal email from the call centers and used his Indian cell phone number to access GPR cards through automated telephone systems on many occasions.
A co-defendant described Patel as “the top person in India and the boss for whom most of the other defendants worked.” Another co-defendant claimed Patel was arrested in India in 2016, but paid a bribe and was released. Additionally, Patel admitted he was accountable for approximately $25-65 million.
Patel was extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in this large-scale telefraud and money laundering scheme. Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the United States pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant in September 2018 after Patel flew there from India.
As I have said before, the President should regularly highlight all of the scams his Justice Department is busting.
MAYOR OF TAYLOR AND TWO OTHERS INDICTED FOR BRIBERY AND FRAUD
A thirty-three count Indictment unsealed today charges City of Taylor Mayor Richard “Rick” Sollars, businessman Shady Awad, and Taylor Community Development Manager Jeffrey Baum with conspiracy to commit bribery in a scheme spanning from 2015 to 2019,United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced. The Indictment also charges Sollars and Awad with seven counts of bribery each, and charges Sollars and Baum with 18 counts of Wire Fraud.
According to the Indictment, Sollars helped Awad’s real estate development company Realty Transition LLC obtain scores of tax-foreclosed properties owned by the City of Taylor. In return, Awad lavished Sollars with thousands of dollars in cash and over $30,000 in renovations to Sollars’s home, over $11,000 in renovations to Sollars’s lake house, and over $12,000 in new household appliances.
The appliances included a refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, a $1,600 cigar humidor, a vacuum cleaner, and a clothes washer and dryer. The free renovations provided to Sollars by Awad include hardwood floors on every level of Sollars’s Taylor residence, hardwood floors at the lake house, a garage door, a new front door, cabinets, and a refurbished lake house deck.
The Indictment also alleges that Jeffrey Baum received bribes from Awad and another developer, in exchange for Baum’s help in obtaining tax-foreclosed properties from the City.
Sollar’s vacation home!
Text messages between Sollars, Awad, and Baum cited throughout the Indictment document the bribe scheme. In one text, Awad states as follows: “My relationship with Rick is worth $1 million so whatever it takes I’ll pay for it” in telling a contractor to do free work on Sollars’s lake house.
The Indictment also charges Sollars and Baum with 18 counts of Wire Fraud, alleging that Sollars and Baum defrauded donors to Sollars’s campaign fund in three ways. First, Sollars would take checks from his campaign account and write them payable to a particular market, purporting to pay for catering for one of Sollars’s events. Instead, the market owner would cash the campaign checks and give the cash back to Sollars, with no catering provided. Second, Sollars and Baum would direct Sollars’s supporters to write checks directly to the market for events that never occurred. Sollars would get cash and scratch-off lottery tickets from the market owner. Third, Sollars and Baum would solicit and accept thousands of dollars in cash contributions to Sollars’s campaign. Instead of depositing the funds into his campaign account, Sollars would simply keep the cash and use it for personal expenses.
The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of $205,993 in cash seized from Sollars’s home on February 10, 2019.
FBI provides readers with contact information if you suspect fraud or corruption with your local elected officials!
“Any time an allegation of corruption is brought to our attention, the FBI’s Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force will investigate it thoroughly. Public corruption at any level undermines the community’s faith in their elected officials and does long-term damage to government institutions,” said SAC D’Antuono. “With that in mind, we encourage anyone who believes they have information about corruption to contact the FBI at 313-965-4545 or tips.fbi.gov.”
I know I haven’t done a scientific analysis, but heck it sure seems that a very high percentage of my ‘Frauds and Crooks’ stories originate in Michigan!
For new readers: If you are interested in the issue of Refugee Resettlement (Michigan is a leading state that ‘welcomes’ more impoverished people), visit my other blogRefugee Resettlement Watch where I have been spending a lot of time in recent weeks.
Editor: Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Sorry, I haven’t written much at ‘Frauds and Crooks’lately but things are hopping on the refugee front and I’ll have to keep my focus there (at Refugee Resettlement Watch) in the coming weeks.
The President’s September Executive Orderwhich would give state and local governments some say in whether refugees will be placed in certain locations has energized the refugee industry and all across the country they are mobilizing to pressure governors and local governments to tell the President that they want MORE refugees. Six governors have so far said—send them to my state! There appears to be a late December deadline for all to weigh in, but guidance has not been published as far as I can tell.
The day before Thanksgiving, I published alist of 88 mayorswho said they wanted more refugees and that post went viral.
Here is the news I had planned for today.
FBI: Samantha Elhassani betrayed her fellow Americans.
I’m reminded once again that a gullible young woman got involved with a (likely charming) Moroccan national and produced 4 children with him while helping him help ISIS.
He is dead, she was returned from Syria to face justice in the US, has lost her children to Indiana social services and now faces prison time.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 2020.
Time is short (must get back to RRW), so I’m posting only the Justice Department press statement from earlier this week, if you want to learn more about her, search her name and you will see several news accounts giving more details about how she became a traitor to America.
Former Indiana Resident Pleads Guilty to Concealing Terrorism Financing
Samantha Marie Elhassani, aka Samantha Sally, 34, formerly of Elkhart, Indiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to a one-count Information charging her with concealment of terrorism financing in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339C.
“Elhassani admitted that she traveled overseas and pre-positioned over $30,000 in cash and gold, knowing that the funds would be used by her husband and brother-in-law to join and support ISIS in Syria,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.
“The National Security Division is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who support foreign terrorist organizations. I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this result.”
“Samantha Elhassani pled guilty to providing financial support to individuals who desired to support ISIS, a terrorist organization that has committed acts of violence against Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana. “She traveled with her husband and brother-in-law to Syria, both of whom became ISIS fighters, putting the lives of her children at risk. Yesterday’s guilty plea to federal terrorism charges reflects the seriousness of her criminal conduct. My office is committed to prosecuting those who provide support to terrorist organizations. ”
“The charges that the defendant in this case has plead guilty to are a reminder the FBI will never relent in ensuring that Americans who abandon their country to further the heinous goals of a designated terrorist organization like ISIS see justice for their betrayal”said Assistant Director Mike McGarrity. “I am proud of the work of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office on this case and grateful for the assistance of our many international and interagency partners.”
“Ms Elhassani knowingly engaged in the concealment of resources which were intended to support future ISIS fighters whose intent is to harm her fellow Americans and others, and her plea should serve as a strong reminder that these actions have serious consequences and will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall, FBI Indianapolis. “The defendant also exposed her young, impressionable children to an environment of hatred and violence with no regard to the harm she was causing them.”
In November 2014, Elhassani was informed by her husband that he and his brother wanted to travel to Syria to join ISIS, which she knew was a terrorist organization that engaged in terrorist activities. Between November 2014 and April 1015, Elhassani helped the two men join ISIS by making multiple trips to Hong Kong and transporting more than $30,000 in cash and gold from the United States and depositing it in a safe deposit box in Hong Kong. Elhassani melted down the gold to look like jewelry and did not disclose the cash and gold on customs declaration forms. At the time Elhassani transported the money and gold, she knew that her husband and brother-in-law had expressed an interest in joining ISIS and that they intended to use these resources to support ISIS.
In July of 2018, Elhassani was transferred from the custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to U.S. law enforcement custody.
I would like to know how she hooked up in the first place with a Moroccan national who was apparently living in Indiana. How was he here? Legally? Illegally? If anyone sees any news about that, send it my way.
And, again, come on over to RRW and see what you should be doing now to counter the refugee industry’s big push to get governors and mayors to go on record in support of more refugees! (The governors who have already agreed are listed in the right hand sidebar—2 are Republicans!)
And, then WTH! he will be out and free in America. He had earlier been the subject of a deportation order.
This is the kind of news that ticks me off! First, there is no mention of how he and his family came to be living in New Haven, CT. Were they refugees resettled in 2016 during Obama’s big movement of Syrian refugees to Anytown, USA, or did they get here through another legal or illegal avenue?
Why are we never told?
Since there is no pic of the Syrian stalker, we’ll use the face of US Attorney John Durham who announced the light sentence that puts the Syrian back on the streets in two years!
And, of course there is no photo. Stories like this one are dressed-up with pictures of court houses and gavels because even if a photo could be used for a foreign criminal, it rarely is!
But, of most concern in this case is the lack of any discussion about why the guilty stalker was ordered to be deported, but now gets only a couple of years in the slammer.
What is his wife going to do to protect herself in two short years?
This Justice Department press release from Tuesday is not one of their better releases. Could that be because it is written in a Connecticut DOJ office?
Syrian National Sentenced for Stalking Offense
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALAA HASAN QALB ALLOUZ, 34, a citizen of Syria last residing in New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stalking in violation of a protective order.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2016, Allouz, his wife and their children emigrated from Syria and settled in New Haven. In April 2017, Allouz’s wife filed a petition for dissolution of marriage, after incidents of domestic violence and Allouz’s state arrests for risk of injury, assault, breach of peace, and violation of a protective order offenses. In July 2017, Allouz’s wife obtained a Standing Criminal Protective Order ordering Allouz not to contact his wife. In August 2017, after Allouz threatened his wife, Allouz’s wife withdrew her petition for dissolution of marriage.
Deportation ordered in 2018, so why wasn’t he deported!
On February 2, 2018, Allouz was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a federal arrest warrant and order of deportation, and he was transferred from a Connecticut state prison to a detention center in Massachusetts.
While in detention, he continued to threaten his wife!
While he was detained in ICE custody, Allouz made multiple phone calls to his wife during which he repeatedly harassed, threatened and intimidated her. He also made calls to other individuals during which he threatened to harm his wife and her family members. Allouz also threatened his wife and her family members in letters and e-mails.
I repeat: So why wasn’t he deported?
Allouz has been detained, first in state and then federal custody, since January 10, 2017. On February 5, 2019, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging him with one count of stalking in violation of a protective order. He pleaded guilty to the offense on May 15, 2019.
He gets two years behind bars at taxpayers’ expense and then will be on supervised release for three years! Who is going to protect the wife when he walks free?
Note to PayPal donors! I want to thank all of you who send me donations for my work via PayPal. I very much appreciate your thoughtfulness. However, PayPal is making changes to their terms of service and I’ve decided to opt-out beginning on March 10, 2020.
HOUSTON – An Indian national has entered a guilty plea for his role in operating and funding India-based call centers which defrauded thousands of victims out of millions of dollars between 2013 and 2016.
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALAA HASAN QALB ALLOUZ, 34, a citizen of Syria last residing in New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for stalking in violation of a protective order.