Indian national arrested in US over scam targeting senior citizens

Washington : US federal law enforcement officials have arrested a 24-year-old Indian national in Virginia on charges of participating in an alleged nationwide scam targeting senior citizens.
Anirudha Kalkote was produced before a US magistrate in Houston on Friday to face the charges.
The 12-count superseding indictment charges Kalkote with conspiracy and mail fraud. Also named in the indictment is MD Azad, 25, an illegal resident of Houston, who was originally charged in August 2020. He will appear again in court on the new charges in the near future.
The indictment alleges victims were sometimes re-victimised multiple times and threatened with bodily harm if they did not pay.
Also Read Meta lawyers probing Sheryl Sandberg’s use of company resources: Report Upon conviction, both of them face up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible USD 250,000 fine.
Three others have already pleaded guilty in relation to the scheme and are awaiting sentencing – Sumit Kumar Singh, 24, Himanshu Kumar, 24, and MD Hasib, 26. They are Indian nationals who illegally resided in Houston.