Gujarati sentenced to 4-year jail for defrauding 85 people of ₹27 cr in US
Updated: Apr 26th, 2025
A Gujarati man has been pronounced guilty of masterminding a multi-million-dollar scam of defrauding elderly Americans.
Hardik Jayantilal Patel, 37, originally from north Gujarat, illegally residing in Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced to nearly four years in a US prison and the US court also ordered him to return over $3.2 million (₹27.36 crore approx) to 85 identified victims.
In handing down the sentence, US District Judge Andrew S Hanen noted the large number of victims and the significant harm Patel and his conspirators caused.
“We must protect our seniors from the predations of scammers,” said Ganjei. “SDTX will tirelessly pursue those that seek to profit by swindling the elderly.”
From March through November 2019, Patel led a team of domestic money mules aka ‘runners’. They laundered money tied to telemarketing fraud schemes originating from call centres in India. Most victims were elderly.
Scammers pretended to work for the US government and claimed the victims were under investigation. They claimed the only way to clear their name was to send cash by mail. Runners in the United States would then pick up the packages and launder the cash.
At least three runners worked under Patel in 2019. He also collaborated with an associate, Sohil Usmangani Vahora, who managed his team of four runners. Together, they coordinated efforts to launder fraud proceeds.
Runners under both Patel and Vahora picked up hundreds of packages between 2019 and 2020 nationwide. These packages contained millions of dollars in cash that victims in multiple states had sent.
Patel was the last of seven to be sentenced in related cases in the SDTX. Vahora, 40, from Des Plaines, Illinois, received more than 15 years in prison and was ordered to pay over $3.5 million in restitution.
Zaheen Malvi, 30, from Heber Springs, Arkansas, initially worked as a runner in the scheme. He later assisted Vahora in managing two other individuals involved in the operation. He received a 54-month sentence and was ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution.
Dhirenkumar Patel, 33, from Richmond, Kentucky, was a runner who worked for Patel. He was ordered to serve 18 months in prison and pay $225,221 in restitution to his victims.
Three other runners received sentences ranging from 29-60 months.
Except for Vahora, who was a legal permanent resident, Patel and his co-conspirators were all illegally in the country when they committed their crimes.
Patel will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
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