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Minnesota couple indicted with international elder fraud scheme

A Virginia grand jury indicted a Chirag Janakbhai Choksi, 35, and his wife, Shachi Naishadh Majmudar, 35, in an international fraud scheme.
Credit: Zolnierek

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal grand jury indicted a Minnesota couple for their roles in an international fraud scheme that targeted elderly Americans.

Court documents said 35-year-old Chirag Janakbhai Choksi and his wife, Shachi Naishadh Majmudar, 35, were members of a criminal conspiracy whose members pretended to be law enforcement officials to trick victims into mailing and shipping cash to other members convincing them it as in their best interest.

The scam generally started with a robocall designed to create urgency with the victims. The call would usually tell the victim that they have a serious legal problem and if they did not do what the call demanded there would be serious consequences, typically an arrest, financial penalties or an end of government benefits.

The scammers tell the victim that in order to prevent the consequences the victim must send money by wire transfer or crash to some government entity.

People worked for the scam in multiple states including New Jersey, California, Indiana, Texas, Illinois and Minnesota.

In one instance scammers pretended to be DEA agents and told the victim that a vehicle found near the Southwest border contained cocaine and her bank information. They then convinced her to send half of the money in her account in good faith until a thorough investigation could be completed and she could be cleared of criminal activity.

Documents state that Choksi used a fake driver's license when picking up cash shipments from victims and made multiple deposits of the cash into accounts for other members of the scheme.

Choksi and Majmudar are chared with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as one count of mail fraud. Choksi is also charged with aggravated identity theft.

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