5th conviction in phone scam involving Indian call centres

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A fifth man has been convicted for his role in a telemarketing scam that defrauded mostly older and infirm victims out of millions of dollars, federal prosecutors in Rhode Island announced Monday.

Sahil Narang, 29, a native of India, pleaded guilty earlier this month to wire fraud charges, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman.

Narang and the others participated in telemarketing schemes that operated out of call centres in India, often obtaining personal identifying and banking information from victims’ computers through remote access applications or from victims themselves, prosecutors said. The information was used to access victims’ bank accounts and steal their funds, they said.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

“These five men pilfered millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims all over the country, most of them senior citizens, leaving them in financial ruin without any recourse for recovery,” Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office, said in a statement.