Newport College Intern Tied to $1M Telemarketing Scheme, Sentenced to Federal Prison
GoLocalProv News Team
Newport College Intern Tied to $1M Telemarketing Scheme, Sentenced to Federal Prison
Bishwajeet Kumar Jha, 21, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and ordered to re-pay close to two dozen victims, who he duped out of also a million dollars.
“The Department of Justice takes very seriously, and will advocate for the imposition of substantial criminal penalties for targeting vulnerable, especially elderly, victims through the commission of federal crimes such as this. Investigations like this one by the Newport Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations show the strength of law enforcement working together to identify and hold accountable those whose mission it is to steal, and in some instance bankrupt, the elderly and most vulnerable in our community,” said Weisman.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Newport-based operation was tied to a large-scale telemarketing operation based in India.
Jha will face deportation proceedings upon completion of his term of incarceration.
The Investigation
According to the U.S. Attorney, Jha and several other interns from the same college in India who were in the United States on hospitality industry internships defrauded a number of individuals of their retirement savings.
The victims ranged in age from 58 years-old to 93 years-old and were duped out of between $1,180 dollars and $174,300 dollars. Over approximately three-months, the conspiracy defrauded individuals of at least $937,280.
The scheme was interrupted by Newport Police on November 20, 2018, when, as part of the investigation, detectives executed a court-authorized search of the residence of Jha and the other members of the conspiracy.
According to the U.S. Attorney, during the court-authorized search, Newport Police seized numerous items related to the operation of the telemarketing scheme.
A subsequent investigation by members of the Newport Police Department and HSI agents determined that after the co-conspirators operating in Newport shared some of the proceeds of the scheme, large sums of money garnered from the scheme were transferred to a bank account in California. From there, the majority of funds were transferred internationally to India, China, and Singapore.