U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that two defendants were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in an international fraud conspiracy that stole over $11 million from mostly senior citizens in multiple states. A victim in West Michigan lost $398,000 to the conspiracy.
Jayesh J. Panchal, 55, of Hicksville, New York, was sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $7,930,287 in restitution to 40 victims of the conspiracy. Vijaya C. Shetty, 53, of Flushing, New York, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $596,800 in restitution to victims. Shetty pleaded guilty in February 2024 and Panchal pleaded guilty in April 2024.
U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering, who imposed the sentence, said Panchal and Shetty were involved in a “horrific” fraud scheme that “preyed upon some of our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly.” She noted that many of the victims “worked, saved, and scrimped their whole lives and now have little or nothing to live on.”
”We teamed up with multiple law enforcement partners to pinpoint and punish these fraudsters who preyed on vulnerable elderly victims, and we’ll continue to aggressively chase these criminals wherever they strike,” said U.S. Attorney Totten. “Raising awareness of elder fraud is critical to help protect our older loved ones from losing their life savings to these types of crimes. My office is committed to fighting all types of elder abuse in our community.”
The fraud scheme began when victims received a pop-up message on their computers warning that a virus had infected their devices. The messages urged the victims to call a number to get help. When the victims called the number provided, they got a response from someone claiming to work for a tech company, such as Microsoft or Apple. In truth, they were scammers located in India, who scared the victims into giving money to the conspiracy with a variety of different ruses.
In one version of the scam, victims were told that their bank accounts had been compromised and they needed to withdraw all their cash and give it to fake “federal agents” for safekeeping. In another version, victims were told that their computers had been infected by a virus and they needed to pay for technical support. In a third version, victims were told that they had been identified in a criminal investigation and needed to turn over money to clear their names.
Regardless of which ruse was used, the result was the same: victims were convinced to give $11 million money to the scammers. Victims did this during in-person meetings with fake “federal agents,” by mailing boxes of cash to addresses provided by the scammers, by wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the scammers, or through gift cards they purchased at the direction of the scammers.
Panchal and one of his co-defendants, McKhaela McNamara, made six trips to meet with a victim in Lake County, Michigan, to collect $398,000 in fraud proceeds from her. The victim had been convinced that her bank accounts had been compromised and that she was giving cash to “federal agents” for safekeeping. It is alleged that a different co-defendant helped arranged the meetings with the Lake County victim.
Panchal and Shetty travelled throughout the United States at the direction of the leaders of the conspiracy in India to collect millions of dollars in cash from the victims. They also laundered fraud proceeds by depositing cash into various bank accounts.
”Fraudsters are targeting our senior community at an alarming rate nationwide. Criminals continue to take advantage of their trusting nature and generosity,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI in Michigan. “We must empower our seniors with knowledge about elder fraud and its various forms to protect them from this intolerable manipulation. If you or someone you know has been a victim of elder fraud, we ask that you report it immediately to the National Elder Fraud Hotline or file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov . We will not allow these criminals to continue exploiting our seniors.”
The FBI Detroit, Grand Rapids Resident Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Lake County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Clay Stiffler prosecuted it.
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