TOLEDO, OHIO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

TOLEDO, Ohio – The last of eight defendants who participated in a vast transnational money laundering conspiracy, that robbed victims in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana of their life savings, has been sentenced to prison.

Victims in Ohio resided in Lima (Allen County), Sunbury (Delaware County), Goshen (Clermont County), and Zanesville (Muskingum County).

Kishan Vinayak Patel, 26, an Indian national, was sentenced today to 46 months (3.8 years) in prison after a federal jury convicted him of participating in a large-scale money laundering conspiracy that sought to promote an international fraud scheme. Co-defendant Pranay Kumar Mamidi, 27, also of India, was found guilty of money laundering conspiracy by a federal jury and previously sentenced to 60 (5 years) months in prison. Patel and Mamidi, along with six other defendants in the case, were also ordered to pay nearly $4 million in restitution, both joint and severally.

The following defendants, all Indian nationals, were previously sentenced after pleading guilty to money laundering charges:

  • Dileep Kumar Sakineni, age 26, 72 months (6 years) in prison;
  • Balaji Rakesh Mulpuri, age 26, 27 months (2.25 years) in prison;
  • Avi Jitendrakumar Patel, age 22, 33 months (2.75 years) in prison;
  • Sai Hruthik Thodeti, age 25, 24 months (2 years) in prison; and
  • Srinivas Ravi Valluru, age 31, 60 months (5 years) in prison.

In addition, Hiren Jagdishbhai Patel, age 33, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 39 months (3.25 years) in prison after also pleading guilty to money laundering charges.

“These individuals stopped at nothing to purposely confuse their victims and used scare tactics to bully and coerce them into unknowingly handing over their life savings. This coordinated effort to steal from hardworking Americans is over,” said United States Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “To those who take advantage of others—and then launder their money on behalf of transnational criminal organizations—know that your callous actions will have consequences. We thank our partners with FBI Cleveland who conducted the investigation as their role was vital in bringing these individuals to justice.”

“Targeting victims and knowingly siphoning their life savings is reprehensible,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “The FBI is focused on defending the homeland and protecting the American public from conniving criminals, such as Kishan Patel and his associates, who preyed on their victims through coercion and scare tactics. The FBI will continue to aggressively identify and investigate those who engage in money laundering schemes, whether domestically or globally, with an intent to harm Americans.”  

According to court documents, from about May to November 2023, the defendants engaged in a multi-layered plan to launder proceeds derived from a fraud scheme known as a “phantom hacker” scam. The scam typically involves a fraudster contacting a victim and falsely claiming that the victim’s legitimate bank or company account has been compromised. Then, the victim is contacted by another person claiming to be a law enforcement agent who informs them that their accounts are facing imminent seizure due to purported involvement in criminal activity. In some cases, the victim is threatened with arrest. After the victim is sufficiently misled by the fake agent, he or she is then manipulated into transferring their savings for the supposed purpose of keeping the funds safe. In reality, and unbeknownst to the victim, they transferred their funds to members of a money laundering conspiracy to distribute and enrich other members of the scheme.

In one common example, elderly victims are informed of supposed suspicious activity on their Amazon account and are then contacted by someone pretending to be an Amazon employee. Next, the victim is contacted by another person who claims to be from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and informs the victim that their identity was stolen. The victim is then transferred to another individual who claims to be a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent. The fake DEA special agent claims that the account in question is being investigated for facilitating drug offenses or for the production of child pornography, and as a result, that the victim will be arrested. Fearing arrest or seizure, the victim follows the scammer’s instructions to withdraw savings from their bank account and convert the funds into cash or gold bars, so that the agent can keep the funds safe on the victim’s behalf. The victim is further instructed to give a purported law enforcement official cash and/or gold bars at either the victim’s home, or a designated drop-off point, such as a gas station or fast-food restaurant. After the drop, the victim is then sent a receipt which appears to be from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Members of the money laundering scheme then distribute the cash and/or gold bars to scheme participants.

According to court documents, the defendants in this case served as money launderers for other co-conspirators throughout the world who participated in phantom hacker schemes operating out of India. The U.S.-based money laundering infrastructure allowed funds illegally taken from victims to be distributed throughout the world. Investigators estimate that the total amount of money laundered is in the tens of millions of dollars.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Melching and Dexter L. Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio.

The investigation and prosecution of this case is in response to the Elder Justice Initiative Program originating from the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017 (EAPPA). The mission of the EAPPA and Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and scams that target the nation’s elderly population.

If you suspect fraudulent conduct involving an older adult, please contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311 and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov to report it.