Indian National Ahmed Maqbul Syed Sentenced to Eight Years in Arizona for Laundering Money from Fraud Scheme Targeting Elderly Victims
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona announced that Ahmed Maqbul Syed, 60, a citizen of India and a former resident of Illinois, was sentenced on October 27 in Tucson to 96 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker. Syed previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was also ordered to pay approximately $2.4 million in restitution to the victims.
According to the Justice Department, Syed participated in a conspiracy to launder proceeds from a widespread 'tech support' and 'government imposter' fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims around the United States, including Arizona. Victims were initially deceived by fraudulent computer pop-up messages warning them of a computer problem or causing their computer to freeze. When victims followed instructions to call for assistance, they were connected instead to scammers posing as tech support or government representatives.
The scammers convinced victims that their accounts had been hacked and their information compromised, which was not true. In some cases, victims were wrongly led to believe their accounts had been linked to child pornography or other crimes. The scammers then instructed victims to withdraw or transfer money under the guise of protecting their assets. Victims were directed to purchase gold and withdraw cash and turn those funds over to individuals posing as government officials, and to purchase gift cards and transfer the numbers to the scammers. At least one victim was also directed to make cash deposits into a bitcoin ATM. Some victims lost most of their life savings.
The FBI Phoenix Division's Tucson office and the Marana Police Department conducted the investigation, with assistance from the FBI's Indianapolis Division and local law enforcement agencies in Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas and Indiana. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson handled the prosecution. The case number is 24-CR-08825-TUC-JCH.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部大楼本体（四级固定图库 fed-doj-building；当事人无官方照片，资料图）。 / The U.S. Department of Justice headquarters building (GSM fixed asset library; file photo, no official photo of the defendant is available).
