Pittsford Man Pleads Guilty to His Role in Credit Card Scam

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Talib Hussain, 75, of Pittsford, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Meredith A. Vacca to misprision of a felony, which carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. 

Between 2012 and July 23, 2024, Hussain’s son, Mirza Khan, and others engaged in a scheme to obtain social security numbers of victims and then use them, along with fictitious names, to apply for and obtain credit cards from various financial institutions, including Citibank, Discover Bank, First National Bank of Omaha, and TD Bank. The financial institutions were directed to mailed the fraudulently obtained credit cards to one of many addresses that Khan and his co-conspirators leased in and around Rochester, NY. They would then use the fraudulently obtained credit cards to make purchases or pay property taxes. Talib Hussain owned a property on S. Plymouth Avenue and was legally responsible for paying the taxes associated with that property. However, between 2021 and 2022, Mirza Khan used fraudulently obtained credit cards and his father’s email address to pay the taxes on the property. Talib Hussain knew that his son was engaged in the illegal scheme. He received tax payment receipts, which showed that the taxes were paid using credit cards that were not in Hussain’s or Khan’s names. Despite this, Hussain failed to notify the relevant federal authorities about the commission of the offense.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Allen D. Davis, II, the IRS Criminal Investigation New York, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr., the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Boston Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector-in-Charge Justin Page, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Michael McGill, New York Field Division. 

Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.