Three NYC Indians Kamal Zafar, Jamal Zafar and Armughanul Asar Indicted for Transnational Call Center Fraud Scheme
August 26, 2019 - Kamal Zafar (51) and Jamal Zafar (48) of South Huntington, NY and Armughanul Asar (68) of College Point, NY were charged in transnational call center fraud scheme targeted at thousands of individuals in the United States.
The three NYC Indians allegedly impersonated federal employees and netted over $2 million from victims across the United States.
Kamal Zafar, Jamal Zafar and Armughanul Asar were all United States-based managers and recruiters for the call center fraud scheme.
The three NYC Indian defendants were arrested August 26, 2019 in the Eastern District of New York.
According to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the transnational fraud scheme of Kamal Zafar, Jamal Zafar and Armughanul Asar utilized callers falsely claiming to be federal employees and threatening arrest to extract payment from their victims.
As alleged in the indictment unsealed in Central Islip federal court:
..between January 2018 and September 2018, the defendants, together with co-conspirators operating from call centers in India, targeted victims in the United States, and falsely claimed to be employees of the IRS, the Social Security Administration or the Drug Enforcement Administration. The victims were informed that they owed a sum of money to the United States government or one of its agencies and that they would be arrested if the debts were not promptly paid. After victims wired payments to bank accounts that the defendants had opened in the names of inactive and shell corporations to receive the fraud proceeds, the funds were withdrawn and laundered through additional bank accounts. The scheme is estimated to have netted over $2 million from victims across the United States.
..the defendants remotely used ruthless scare tactics and threatened innocent citizens including the elderly, widows, and professionals under the guise of having to pay off unfounded financial obligations to the U.S. government for their own personal gain.
Charges & Potential Penalty
The charges against Kamal Zafar, Jamal Zafar and Armughanul Asar include:- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- Conspiracy to launder money in furtherance of their fraudulent scheme
Kamal Zafar, Jamal Zafar and Armughanul Asar must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.