TAMPA — The man who acted as “money lava” in a nationwide scheme involving government impersonation and having both women in the Tampa Bay area, spends six years in federal prisons, a judge ordered Tuesday.
US District Judge William Jung called the crime “evil and evil,” pointing out that the plan torn apart the elderly who were led to believe that if they did not take over the savings of their lives, they would be arrested.
“It’s almost the same as going to their house and sticking a gun into the temple,” Jung said. “These people were horrible.”
The sentence was greater than the three years suggested by federal guidelines, but far less than what the judge said would be imposed.
Jung apparently persuaded by arguments from assistant defender Adam Allen, who said Patel’s role in the scheme was limited to the role of a courier who he knew was “bad money.”
It was a job he came at a low point in his life, his lawyer said.
“He was really depressed and wasn’t going well,” Allen told the judge. “And they’re the type of people who are tied up to be mules.”
Patel, 33, pleaded guilty last year to a conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in the scheme.
Federal prosecutors have identified 11 victims in seven states. Their collective loss was estimated at nearly $1.8 million.
US lawyer Aide Jennifer Peresy read a letter from one man who lost $49,000. He wrote that he had to sell his house and that he had a hard time paying for it.
The man was “devastated by fraud,” Peresy said.
The crime came to light in December 2023 after a Ruskin woman told investigators she handed out some large amounts of cash and money in the direction of someone who contacted her over the phone.
The woman identified in court records by initial “El” believed that the person was an officer of the US Treasury Department. She gave her money to settle what she was said to be an arrest warrant that she indicted for money laundering.
She described some of the deals the car had risen to her home before she was instructed to put cash bags in the back seat. She had never spoken to a driver.
Over months and multiple transactions, women have emptied their bank accounts, life insurance policies and Ross IRAs. By the time the scheme attracted the attention of law enforcement, she had lost $170,000.
A Pasco County woman told authorities the same. The woman, identified as “DL” in court records, described a series of cash and gold bar deals with someone she believed to be an agent of the Ministry of Treasury. Her total loss remained at $732,000.
The final exchange occurred outside of Ruskin Circle K under the supervision of Hillsboro agents and US Secret Service agents. “El” was told to deliver $27,000 with gold coins and a bar. Instead, the agent gave her a package of soap, which she placed behind the red jeep.
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They followed the driver to the Wireglass Mall in Wesley Chapel. In the mall parking lot, they saw Patel leave and open the package. He was later arrested.
Patel tried to work with investigators, his lawyer said. However, he could only provide rare information about the people who hired him.
No one involved in the scheme has been brought to justice. The perpetrator was based in a call centre in India.
“I need my sentence to send a message wherever these people are,” Judge Jung said. “You’re hiding in some boiler rooms, but some of your minions are getting serious and big sentences.”
Patel’s involvement in the scheme lasted only about 60 days, his lawyer said. He had no role in planning or organizing fraud. Otherwise, he has lived a law-abiding life.
He holds a university degree in mechanical engineering from his hometown of Indian school. He moved to the United States with his family in 2018. They lived in New Jersey.
Patel earned his master’s degree from Marshall University in West Virginia, but his limited English left him out, according to a memo in the sentencing. The difficulties in his language made it difficult for him to do his job. He worked briefly as a 7-Eleven cashier, a software engineer at Bank of America, and a soil inspector for an engineering company.
He married an American woman but left after she was physically abused, his lawyer said.
His life in the United States was characterized as “failing after failure,” the memo said. He became a “money mule” out of despair.
In October 2023 he was offered a job involving picking up and delivering packages. He was told little else, but he began to learn about the packages he had money and money. He was instructed by phone via WhatsApp about where to go to pick up the package. He has never met anyone who gave instructions.
When he arrived, someone came out and placed the package behind his car. He will then get more instructions as to where to deliver it.
For each package, Patel refunded airfares and car rental costs. He helped with more than $1.5 million in laundry, but Patel received only $6,000 for his work.
He knew he was involved in illegal schemes, court records state. However, he knew nothing about its scope and structure.
Patel sat in court on Tuesday wearing an orange prison uniform. He heard the interpreter’s words, translated minutes from his native language, Gujarati.
His father, Bharat Patel, urged the judge to impose less sentences. His crime was due to the bad influence of his friends, he said. His son placed his hand on his face as he spoke.
Pranav Patel said in his own words to the court that he hoped he could apologise to the victims, vowing that he would never make the same mistake.
“I came to America for a better life,” he said through an interpreter. “And I feel very sorry and bad… this is how the best years of my life have been.”
He said he never knew what he did would make people miserable.
But their misery ran deeper than theft, the judge said. Patel stole the peace of mind that they would never fall victim to such a fraud.
“You were an important part of the scheme,” Jung said.
Times staff writer Alexa Coultoff contributed to this report.
