Man gets 6 years in scam that cost Tampa Bay women close to $1 million

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TAMPA — A man who acted as a 'money mule' in a nationwide scheme that involved government impersonators and bilked a pair of Tampa Bay-area women of close to $1 million will spend six years in federal prison, a judge ordered Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge William Jung called the crime 'evil and wicked,' noting that the scheme ripped off older adults who were led to believe they'd be arrested if they didn't turn over their life savings.
'It's pretty much the same thing as going in their house and sticking a gun in their temple,' Jung said. 'These people were terrified.'
The prison sentence was greater than the three years suggested by federal guidelines, though significantly less than what the judge said he'd planned to impose.
Jung was apparently persuaded by arguments from Assistant Public Defender Adam Allen, who said Patel's role in the scheme was limited to that of a courier for what he knew was 'bad money.'
It was a job he came to at a low point in his life, his lawyer said.
'He was really depressed and not doing well,' Allen told the judge. 'And those are the types of people that get roped into becoming mules.'
Patel, 33, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in the scheme.
Federal prosecutors identified 11 victims in seven states. Their collective loss was estimated at close to $1.8 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie read a letter from one man who lost $49,000. He wrote that he had to sell his home and struggled to pay expenses.
The man 'was devastated by the fraud,' Peresie said.
The crime came to light in December 2023 after a Ruskin woman told investigators she'd handed over several large sums of cash and gold at the direction of someone who'd contacted her by phone.
The woman, identified in court records by the initials 'E.L.,' believed the person was an officer of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She gave money to clear up what she was told was an arrest warrant charging her with money laundering.
She described several transactions in which a car pulled up to her house before she was instructed to place cash packages in the back seat. She never spoke to the driver.
Over several months and multiple transactions, the woman emptied her bank accounts, a life insurance policy and a Roth IRA. By the time the scheme came to the attention of law enforcement, she'd lost $170,000.
A Pasco County woman told authorities a similar story. That woman, identified in court records as 'D.L.,' described a series of transactions for cash and gold bars with a person she believed was a Treasury agent. Her total loss was pegged at $732,000.
The final exchange occurred outside a Ruskin Circle K, under the watch of Hillsborough deputies and U.S. Secret Service agents. 'E.L.' had been told to deliver $27,000 in gold coins and bars. Agents instead gave her a package of soap, which she placed in the back of a red Jeep.
They followed the driver all the way to the Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel. In the mall parking lot, they watched as Patel got out and opened the package. He was then arrested.
Patel tried to cooperate with investigators, his attorney said. But he could provide only scarce information about the people who employed him.
No one else involved in the scheme has been brought to justice. The perpetrators were based in call centers in India.
'I need my sentence to send a message to wherever these people are,' Judge Jung said. 'You're hiding in some boiler room, but some of your minions are getting a serious, big sentence.'
Patel's involvement in the scheme lasted only about 60 days, his attorney said. He had no role in planning or organizing the scam. He has otherwise lived a law-abiding life.
He holds a college degree in mechanical engineering from a school in his native India. He immigrated with his family to the U.S. in 2018. They lived in New Jersey.
Patel pursued a master's degree at Marshall University in West Virginia, but his limited English led him to drop out, according to a sentencing memo. His language difficulties made it difficult for him to hold a job. He'd worked for short periods as a 7-Eleven cashier, a Bank of America software engineer and a soil inspector for an engineering company.
He married an American woman, but separated after she became physically abusive, his lawyer said.
His life in the U.S. was characterized as 'one failure after another,' the memo stated. He became a 'money mule' out of desperation.
In October 2023, he was offered a job that involved picking up and delivering packages. He was told little else, but came to learn the packages held money and gold. He received directions on his phone through WhatsApp about where to go to pick up the packages. He never met the person who gave the directions.
Once he arrived, someone would come out and place the package in the back of his car. He'd then obtain further instructions on where to deliver it.
For every package, Patel was reimbursed the cost of his airfare and car rentals. Although he assisted in the laundering of more than $1.5 million, Patel received a meager $6,000 for his work.
He knew he was involved in an illegal scheme, court records state. But he knew nothing about its scope and structure.
Patel sat in court Tuesday wearing an orange jail uniform. He listened to the words of an interpreter who translated the proceedings from Gujarati, his native language.
His father, Bharat Patel, urged the judge to impose a lesser sentence. His crime was due to the bad influence of a friend, he said. As he spoke, his son placed his hands over his face.
In his own words to the court, Pranav Patel said he wished he could apologize to the victims and vowed never to make the same mistake.
'I came to the USA for a better life,' he said, speaking through the interpreter. 'And I feel very sorry and bad ... that the best years of my life I spent this way.'
He said he never knew that what he did was making people miserable.
But their misery ran deeper than the theft, the judge said. Patel stole their peace of mind that they could never fall victim to such a fraud.
'You were a vital part of the scheme,' Jung said, 'which was just about as cold and nasty of a scheme as I've ever seen."
Times staff writer Alexa Coultoff contributed to this report.