Portage agents say they launched a telemarketing scheme

A Portage man convicted of mail fraud and money laundering in connection with an international telemarketing scheme has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison, officials announced Friday.

Irfan Gill, 63, was sentenced Thursday in the District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division in Grand Rapids, according to documents.

The judge also ordered Gill to pay $561,980.27 in restitution to his victims.

“Irfan Gill preyed on elderly Americans to hit his pocket, leaving the victims scared and devastated,” Mark Totten, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement. “Every day these scams happen across America and target vulnerable members of our community.” We fight to bring these criminals to justice, but we want to prevent these crimes first and foremost.

“I urge everyone to protect themselves and their loved ones: be careful with unwanted calls; never share confidential information; resist the pressure to act quickly.”

Gill’s attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

Authorities alleged that Gill ran a multi-year international telemarketing scam that targeted American citizens from at least June 2018 to March 2022. They said he worked with a call center in Pakistan that defrauded more than 1,500 consumers — mostly elderly — in the United States. .

They also alleged that Gill failed to report or pay taxes on fraudulent income and fraudulently obtained more than $20,000 in payday protection loans for a bogus cable and satellite television company that did not exist during the COVID-19 pandemic. 19.

Under his telemarketing scheme, victims were tricked into paying more than $560,000 for cable and satellite TV upgrades and subscription discounts that were never delivered, officials said.

Authorities said the callers instructed victims to send payments to Gill’s PO boxes in Portage. He then transferred these payments to his bank accounts.

In December 2023, Gill was indicted on charges of mail fraud and money laundering. In July, a federal jury found Gill guilty of seven counts of mail fraud and 11 counts of money laundering.

He faces up to 30 years in prison on the mail fraud charges and up to 20 years on the money laundering charges.

“This individual’s fraudulent activities have caused victims untold financial and emotional suffering, and today’s sentencing reaffirms our commitment to protecting the public from such schemes,” said Inspector Rodney M. Hopkins of the US Postal Inspection Service’s Detroit Division. statement. “We will continue to be vigilant in our pursuit of justice for those who would prey on the vulnerable.”

In a court filing last week, Gill’s attorney, Michael Bartish, described his client, an immigrant, as a hard worker who “made some bad and bad decisions that hurt others.”

On Thursdayan Ann Arbor woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $41,000 from a wage protection program.

Last weekA Wayne County pharmacist and his brother have been found guilty of health care and bank fraud.

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@CharlesERamirez