A crackdown on Americans of Indian descent |
There are an estimated 2.8 million Americans of Indian descent (2010 census). Most of them are prosperous, highly educated and, notably, not known to get into trouble. But not every one of them has contributed equally to creating that gold standard. They are scammers. Twenty-four men and women from India (and of Indian descent) were convicted in July 2018 for defrauding thousands of Americans of millions of dollars through telephone frauds. They targeted the elderly, preying on their vulnerabilities and insecurities. The scam was run from well-staffed call centres in India. Victims were approached on phone by callers impersonating federal income tax officials. They threatened victims with arrests if they did not pay up tax dues. This is just one of the many scams that are being tracked by US law enforcement. The cons, who were sentenced up to 20 years in jail, were a mix of Indians merely residing in the United States or those who had become American citizens. Some of those in the latter category, were ordered to be stripped of their citizenship after their sentence and sent back to India.
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