U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said a 28-year-old Indian citizen living unlawfully in Heber Springs, Arkansas, pled guilty to engaging in an international conspiracy to conduct mail and wire fraud. Zaheen Malvi acknowledged helping Indian call centers steal millions of dollars from US victims in a telemarketing campaign from 2017 to 2020.
Malvi first led the operation, targeting Target shops in Chicago to steal gift cards sent by victims to call centers. He eventually managed runners who traveled the country to collect victims’ mail-in payment packages.
Hamdani stressed the relentlessness of Indian call centers that targeted vulnerable people, especially the elderly. While Malvi is held accountable, law enforcement will continue to fight fraud.
The ruse often persuaded victims they were under FBI investigation. Phone fraudsters told victims that buying gift cards and giving the redemption codes to the call center or sending cash in parcels to specific addresses was the only way to cleanse their reputations. US runners depleted gift card cash and retrieved parcels.
Malvi must repay scheme victims as part of his plea bargain. Judge Andrew S. Hanen accepted the guilty plea and set the sentence on August 14. Malvi may be imprisoned for 20 years and fined $250,000.
Malvi will be held until sentence. The SSA-OIG, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations in Houston and Fayetteville, Arkansas, the FBI, and the Heber Springs Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Bauman and Kate Suh are prosecuting.
