U.S. Attorney Mark A. Totten | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Mark A. Totten | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten, announced that Irfan Gill, a 63-year-old resident of Portage, has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Gill was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering related to an international telemarketing scheme. He has also been ordered to pay $561,980.27 in restitution to the victims.
"Irfan Gill preyed on older Americans to pad his own pocket, leaving victims scared and ruined," stated U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. He added that scams like these target vulnerable community members daily across America. Totten urged individuals to protect themselves by being cautious of unsolicited calls and not sharing sensitive information.
The trial revealed that between June 2018 and March 2022, Gill collaborated with a call center in Pakistan. The scheme defrauded over 1,500 elderly people in the United States out of more than $560,000 for television upgrades and discounts that were never provided. Callers from Pakistan persuaded victims to send checks and money orders to post office boxes in Portage by threatening service termination.
Gill deposited these payments into bank accounts under fake business names such as Cable Upgrade and Sky Satellite. He managed the payments by attributing them to specific overseas callers and decided how much money he would keep before wiring the rest to Pakistan. To avoid detection, he opened multiple post office boxes and bank accounts for his fake companies.
In addition to this scheme, Gill did not report or pay taxes on the fraudulent proceeds. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he fraudulently obtained over $20,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans for a non-existent company.
"This sentencing highlights the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s dedication to safeguarding our most vulnerable citizens," said Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Detroit Division. Hopkins emphasized their commitment to protecting the public from such schemes.
Federal law enforcement advises caution with unsolicited communications and warns against sharing sensitive information or acting quickly under pressure from scammers.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Townshend and Stephen Baker prosecuted it.
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