United States of America v. Hardik Jayantilal Patel

Houston, Texas criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with multimillion-dollar elder fraud

Illegal alien sentenced in multimillion-dollar elder fraud ring

The second ringleader in an international fraud scheme victimizing the elderly has been ordered to prison.



Hardik Jayantilal Patel, 37, illegally resided in Lexington, Kentucky. He pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2023.



U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has sentenced Patel to serve 46 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. Patel will also pay a combined $3,203,478 in restitution to 85 identified victims. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanen noted the large number of victims and the significant harm Patel and his conspirators caused. Not a U.S. citizen, Patel is expected to face removal proceedings following the sentence.



"We have an obligation to protect our seniors from the predations of scammers,” said Ganjei. "SDTX will tirelessly pursue those that seek to profit by swindling the elderly.”



From March through November 2019, Patel led a team of domestic money mules aka "runners.” They laundered money tied to telemarketing fraud schemes originating from call centers in India. Most victims were elderly.



Scammers pretended to work for the U.S. government and claimed the victims were under investigation. They claimed the only way to clear their name was to send cash by mail. Runners in the United States would then pick up the packages and launder the cash.



At least three runners worked under Patel in 2019. He also collaborated with an associate, Sohil Usmangani Vahora, who managed his own team of four runners. Together, they coordinated efforts to launder fraud proceeds.



Runners under both Patel and Vahora picked up hundreds of packages between 2019 and 2020 nationwide. These packages contained millions of dollars in cash that victims in multiple states had sent.



Patel was the last of seven to be sentenced in related cases in the SDTX. Vahora, 40, Des Plaines, Illinois, received more than 15 years in prison and was ordered to pay over $3.5 million in restitution.



Zaheen Malvi, 30, Heber Springs, Arkansas, initially worked as a runner in the scheme. He later assisted Vahora in managing two other individuals involved in the operation. He received a 54-month sentence and was ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.



Dhirenkumar Patel, 33, Richmond, Kentucky, was a runner who worked for Patel. He was ordered to serve 18 months in prison and pay $225,221 in restitution to his victims.



Three other runners received sentences ranging from 29-60 months.



With the exception of Vahora, who was a legal permanent resident, Patel and his co-conspirators were all illegally in the country when they committed their crimes.



Patel will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.



The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI, Kentucky State Police and police departments in Heber Springs, Arkansas, and Frankfort, Kentucky. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Bauman and Kate Suh are prosecuting the case.



The SSA and its OIG consistently warns people of similar scams. Protect yourself!