PORTAGE, Mich. — A Portage man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of mail fraud and money laundering in connection to an international telemarketing scheme.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten, announced the sentencing on Friday and said Irfan Gill, 63, will also have to pay $561,980.27 in restitution to the victims of the case.
“Irfan Gill preyed on older Americans to pad his own pocket, leaving victims scared and ruined,” said Totten. "Every day these scams happen across America and target vulnerable members of our communities. We’re fighting to hold these criminals accountable, but above all want to prevent these crimes."
Evidence at the trial showed that between June 2018 and March 2022, Gill worked with a call center in Pakistan for the telemarketing scheme.
With the call center, he defrauded more than 1,500 primarily elderly people across the U.S. into paying more than $560,000 for cable and satellite television upgrades and subscription discounts that weren't provided.
Callers in Pakistan convinced the victims to mail checks and money orders to post office boxes in Portage. In some cases, they threatened to end the victims' television services.
Gill then retrieved the victims' payments and deposited them into bank accounts under the names of fake cable and satellite television businesses. Names included: Cable Upgrade, D Network, D Tech, Direct Network, Dish, Dish Upgrade and Sky Satellite.
Gill kept track of the payments and attributed specific victims to specific overseas callers. He calculated how much money he would keep for himself and how much to wire to Pakistan.
To avoid detection, Gill opened multiple post office boxes and bank accounts for his fake companies and worked to convince several bank investigators that his fake companies were real.
In addition to this, Gill didn't report or pay taxes on the fraud proceeds. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he fraudulently obtained more than $20,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans for a fake cable and satellite television company that didn't exist.
Gill was convicted by the jury of seven counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering in connection with the telemarketing scheme.
"I encourage everyone to protect themselves and their loved ones: be wary of unsolicited calls; never share sensitive information; and resist the pressure to act quickly," Totten said.
Some ways to protect yourself from these scams include:
- Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, e-mails, and mailings
- Never give or send any sensitive information or money to unverified people or businesses. This information includes:
- Date of birth
- Account numbers
- Passwords
- Credit or debit card numbers
- Resist the pressure to act quickly
- Scammers create a false sense of urgency to lure people to immediate action
- If you recognize a scam attempt, immediately end all communication with the perpetrator
