Ringleader Imprisoned for Almost 16 Years After Laundering Millions in Indian Call Center Scam Money

HOUSTON – A 39-year-old legal permanent resident (LPR) from India has been sentenced for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Sohil Usmangani Vahora, Des Plaines, Illinois, pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2023.

U.S District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has now ordered him to serve 188 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. As an LPR, he could also lose his status in the United States.

Vahora was ordered to pay a combined $3,541,258 in restitution to dozens of individual victims. At the hearing, the court heard that over 80 percent of Vahora’s victims were elderly. Victim impact statements received from 33 victims or their family members described “relentless” phone calls, financial hardship and feelings of shame Vahora and his co-conspirators caused.

“Vahora chose to go all in on India’s predatory call centers, swindling savings from his elderly neighbors while at the same time turning his back on the country that chose to let him in,” said Hamdani. “He saw the money flowing through his organization as nothing more than dollar signs, ignoring the foreign fraudsters who stole money and dashed dreams using a script of fear and lies. Today’s 15-year and eight-month sentence sends the message that people who move a victim’s money are as culpable as the person who initially places the bogus call.”

Between 2017 and 2020, Vahora managed a team of domestic money mules or “runners.” He received work from call centers in India that were perpetrating telemarketing scams in the United States. 

One common script used in the scheme involved coercing victims into believing members of law enforcement were investigating them. The “federal authority” on the phone would convince the victim the only way to clear his or her name from investigation was to buy gift cards and transfer the redemption codes to the call center or mail cash in a package to a name and address the call center provided. Runners in the United States would then deplete the gift card funds and pick up the packages.

At least five runners worked for Vahora over the course of the conspiracy. They picked up hundreds of packages containing cash approximately 280 victims had shipped. Although Vahora lived in the greater Chicago area, he sent his runners all over the country.

Co-conspirator Zaheen Rafikbhai Malvi, 30, Heber Springs, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud May 15, 2023, and is set for sentencing Dec. 9. At that time, Malvi faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

An additional three of Vahora’s runners were previously sentenced to 29, 41 and 60 months in federal prison. 

Vahora will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. 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 Homeland Security Investigations in Houston and Fayetteville, Arkansas, conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI and Heber Springs Police Department. 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!