Indian citizen sentenced for defrauding elderly Arizona victims

A 60-year-old former Illinois resident was sentenced to eight years in federal prison Tuesday for his role in a multi-million dollar money laundering conspiracy that defrauded elderly victims across Arizona and the nation.

Ahmed Maqbul Syed, a citizen of India, was ordered by U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker to serve 96 months in prison and pay roughly $2.4 million in restitution to his victims, federal prosecutors announced.

Syed previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for participating in a complex scheme involving tech support and government imposter fraud.

According to officials, the scam typically began with pop-up messages flashing across victims’ computer screens, falsely warning them of a critical technical error or freezing their displays.

When victims called the assistance phone number provided in the pop-up, scammers pretending to be legitimate tech support technicians or government agents answered. The fraudsters convinced callers that their bank accounts were compromised and, in some instances, falsely claimed the accounts were linked to child pornography or other major crimes.

Under the guise of safeguarding their assets, scammers directed victims to hand over their money.

Fraudsters instructed victims to buy physical gold, withdraw cash and hand the funds over to those posing as government officials. Other victims were told to purchase gift cards and share the card numbers, while at least one person was directed to deposit cash into a bitcoin ATM.

Federal authorities said several victims lost most of their life savings to the operation.

The investigation was led by the FBI Phoenix Division’s Tucson office alongside the Marana Police Department, with assistance from federal and local law enforcement agencies across Illinois, Wisconsin, Texas and Indiana.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson handled the prosecution.

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