Two Indian-origin men, Tejas Patel and Navya Bhatt, have been arrested in the United States on federal money laundering charges following an investigation into a multi-state scam operation.
Federal authorities said the duo faces three counts of money laundering each for their alleged involvement in scams that cheated victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
According to investigators, the frauds included PayPal scams, fake Microsoft tech support schemes, and Bitcoin-related cons.
Victims were persuaded to make payments in unusual forms such as gold bars, cryptocurrency, and large sums of cash.
Court records reveal that a woman in Toledo was tricked into handing over more than $40,000 in cash after the accused allegedly posed as representatives of the Federal Trade Commission.
Officials said the money laundering activities were linked to a larger organised network involved in moving and hiding proceeds from fraud.
Both accused appeared in federal court last week and waived their preliminary hearings. Patel’s detention hearing is scheduled for February 6, while Bhatt is currently under an ICE detainer and has not yet received a new court date.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI Cleveland Division Cyber Squad, which specialises in cyber and financial crimes.
