A Delhi court has dismissed the bail plea of an individual accused of orchestrating a scam involving approximately Rs 157 crore, targeting numerous individuals in various countries, including the USA, through fraudulent calls from call centers based in India.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that the accused impersonated officials from organizations like the Indian Revenue Services, the USA Immigration Department, and various banking and financial institutions. These impostors coerced their victims into paying fees, fines, or taxes through various means and compelled them to divulge sensitive bank account details and credentials.
Special Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal while denying bail to the accused, Sanket Bhadresh Modi, noting that he had not cooperated with the investigations on three occasions despite receiving notices and had once provided a false excuse to evade investigation. Modi served as the director of S M Technomine Pvt Ltd, a company also accused in the case.
The judge further observed that the accused had hindered the investigation by not providing passwords for accessing emails and Bitcoin wallets. He had also pressured and threatened his employees not to disclose any information to the CBI.
The court expressed concerns about the potential tampering of evidence, especially digital evidence, if the accused were released from custody. It also noted that various complainants had come forward during the investigation, providing specific details about how they had been victimized.
The court highlighted that the accused’s involvement in using Bitcoin wallets and iCloud accounts was under investigation due to his failure to provide passwords. It anticipated that further recoveries related to fake foreign bank accounts would occur once access to these accounts and emails was gained, shedding more light on the money trail.
The judge concluded that releasing the accused at this stage would impede the investigation and increase the risk of evidence tampering.
The CBI had registered the case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, personating a public servant, extortion, cheating, criminal intimidation, and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. If convicted, the accused could face a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
According to the prosecution, another accused company, E-Sampark Softech Pvt Ltd, forwarded millions of fraudulent calls to the USA from different call centers in India, either directly or through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The fraudulent callers impersonated government officials or falsely claimed affiliation with banking and financial institutions. They coerced victims into paying fees, fines, or taxes and compelled them to disclose sensitive bank account details and credentials, defrauding individuals in various foreign countries, including the USA.
The CBI alleged that approximately $20 million (about Rs 157 crore) was gained by the accused individuals in conspiracy with each other from various victims in the USA through fraudulent calls. The accused and his company were purportedly part of this conspiracy.
In one specific instance, it was claimed that the accused cheated a US resident, Greg Haberman, out of $23,000 by falsely promising him a $60,000 grant in March 2017. Haberman paid the scammers $23,000 via iTunes gift cards and Western Union wire transfers. The prosecution stated that multiple US citizens were threatened by these callers with arrest, criminal cases, fines, and property seizures. This fraudulent operation had reportedly been ongoing since 2015.
