Fox News Flash top headlines for July 16
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.
The Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of a married couple on Thursday, who stand accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars for foreign fraudsters.
The Inspector General for the Social Security Administration (SSA), Gail S. Ennis, announced the arraignment of Chaitali Dave, 36, and Mehulkumar Patel, 36 -- both residents of Lexington, South Carolina. They face federal charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering in the Northern District of Georgia. Patel was arraigned last month and Dave was arraigned on Thursday.
The husband and wife team allegedly garnered $400,000 from at least 24 victims of Social Security and tech support scams," the SSA reported.
“Criminal India-based call centers sought to prey on vulnerable members of our community and steal from them by misleading them over the phone,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in a statement. “Those, like Patel and Dave, who allegedly launder money in the United States on behalf of foreign-based fraudsters, are the linchpins of those schemes.”
Andrew Saul, commissioner of Social Security added, "I commend the Department of Justice and Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General for their aggressive work to fight fraudsters who target Americans through various phone scams. People who receive suspicious calls should just hang up, and never give out their personal information. They should go online to oig.ssa.gov to report these Social Security scams.”
POLICE, USPS HELP RECOVER ELDERLY MAN'S $9,500 AFTER PHONE SCAM
India-based call centers have been defrauding U.S. residents, including the elderly, by misleading them with fake phone calls, according to Ennis.
Part of the con had India-based callers posing as federal agents claiming that the victims' Social Security number had been used in a crime. Callers then threatened the victim with imprisonment or financial penalty if they didn't send money. Callers told the targets to mail the cash to accomplices, which allegedly included Patel and Dave.
The operation also involved victims being tricked into sending money in exchange for tech support on their computers. The callers would provide nothing in return, or gain remote access to their machine to hack their bank account directly.
The press release stressed that "the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Anyone who suspects that they may have been a victim of a Social Security fraud is encouraged to report it at https://oig.ssa.gov.
True Crime
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
