IRS scam: Many duped over loans, govt grants

Apart from extorting American citizens in the name of US tax and immigration agencies, employees of five Ahmedabad-based call centres — now under the scanner of the US authorities — also duped them via two other methods.

The accused contacted them to tell they were eligible for short-term unsecured loans and also government grants. They took processing fee from them to avail the loans but the victims got nothing in return.

The scam was operational since 2012 and even had a few US-based accused acting at the behest of the Indian call-centre operators allegedly in roles including those of “data brokers” and “runners”, who facilitated in the selection, and subsequent duping of victims, according sources familiar with the US probe.

The US Justice Department on Thursday charged 56 individuals from India and the US, and five Ahmedabad-based call centres, for their alleged involvement in the multimillion-dollar fraud.

Among the 56 persons charged is accused number 16, Ahmedabad’s “Sagar Thakar” alias ‘Shahgir Thakkar’ alias ‘Shaggy’, who is under the scanner of the Thane police for being part of a racket that ran at least nine call centres at Mira Road, whose employees extorted US nationals in the name of that country’s tax (Internal Revenue Service) and immigration authorities (US Citizen and Immigration Services).

Thakkar is currently absconding and there is a lookout notice pending against him and his sister at India’s entry –and-exit points.

According to the US authorities, the accused had extorted processing fee from their American victims for giving them small, short-term and unsecured loan as part of what is known as the ‘Payday Loan” scam.

The modus operandi was simple. A call centre employee would call a potential victim and mislead him or her into believing that the caller was a “Loan Officer” and the US resident was eligible for a fictitious ‘Payday’ loan, in which repayment is generally linked to a borrower’s next pay-check. The victim was then asked to pay a processing fee — ‘worthiness fee’ — to demonstrate an ability to repay the loan. The victims received nothing in return, according findings of the US authorities.

As part of what has been dubbed as the ‘Government Grant’ scam, the call-centre employees would call up US residents misleading them into believing that the latter were eligible for a fictitious government grant. The callers then directed a potential victim to pay an IRS tax or a processing fee. Once the processing fee was paid, the victims received noting in return.