{"id":1302731,"date":"2025-11-19T09:13:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T03:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1302731"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:14:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T03:44:31","slug":"21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A 21-year-old Indian student in the United States, <strong>Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya<\/strong>, has been sentenced to <strong>97 months in prison<\/strong> and ordered to pay <strong>$2,515,780 in restitution<\/strong> for his role in a large-scale money laundering conspiracy. The case highlights one of the most troubling fraud trends in the US\u2014criminal networks targeting vulnerable elderly citizens through phone scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"728\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307-1024x728.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1302743\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307-1024x728.png 1024w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307-300x213.png 300w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307-768x546.png 768w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png 1088w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mangukiya\u2019s co-conspirator, <strong>Kishan Rajeshkumar Patel<\/strong>, received a 63-month sentence earlier in June. Both pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How the Scam Worked<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mangukiya and Patel identified elderly victims and contacted them while impersonating US government officials. They fabricated investigations and falsely claimed victims needed to deposit <strong>cash, gold, or valuables<\/strong> to avoid legal action or financial loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The operation followed a clear pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Victims were told they were under investigation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They were pressured to make \u201csecurity\u201d payments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A courier\u2014often Patel\u2014was sent to collect the valuables from victims\u2019 homes or public parking lots.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The criminals made victims believe they were cooperating with authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In one incident, an elderly woman was told her <strong>social security number was stolen<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/us\/indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-in-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud-scheme-in-texas-phishing-attack-targeting-elderly\/articleshow\/125388454.cms\">multiple accounts<\/a> were opened in her name, and she needed to pay <strong>$30,000<\/strong> to avoid being implicated in a money laundering scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Evidence and Arrest<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Patel\u2019s arrest led investigators to the broader network. His phone contained messages between Patel, Mangukiya, and two unidentified individuals referred to as \u201cHunter\u201d and \u201cMaster,\u201d suspected to be higher-level operatives in the scam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mangukiya was arrested in New Jersey on December 5, 2024. A search of his residence revealed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>printer used for creating fake IDs<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>$73,422.96 in cash<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Communication records detailing the laundering operation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>He admitted he was paid <strong>2% of all fraud proceeds<\/strong> and had personally recruited Patel as a courier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Wider Warning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities say cases like this are becoming increasingly common, with scammers often exploiting seniors\u2019 trust and fear. The harsh sentencing reflects the US Justice Department\u2019s intensified crackdown on transnational fraud networks exploiting vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mangukiya\u2019s case serves as a stark reminder of the growing sophistication of scam operations\u2014and the heavy penalties awaiting those who participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/americankahani.com\/table_tags\/dhruv-rajeshbhai-mangukiya\/\">Image Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 21-year-old Indian student in the United States, Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,515,780 in restitution for his role in a large-scale money laundering conspiracy. The case highlights one of the most troubling fraud trends in the US\u2014criminal networks targeting vulnerable elderly citizens through phone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1302743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[88,329],"class_list":["post-1302731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-fraud","tag-usa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A 21-year-old Indian student in the United States, Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,515,780 in restitution for his role in a large-scale money laundering conspiracy. The case highlights one of the most troubling fraud trends in the US\u2014criminal networks targeting vulnerable elderly citizens through phone [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T03:43:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T03:44:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1088\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"773\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/\",\"name\":\"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-19T03:43:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-19T03:44:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png\",\"width\":1088,\"height\":773},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\",\"description\":\"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7\",\"name\":\"Mohul Ghosh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mohul Ghosh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","og_description":"A 21-year-old Indian student in the United States, Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,515,780 in restitution for his role in a large-scale money laundering conspiracy. The case highlights one of the most troubling fraud trends in the US\u2014criminal networks targeting vulnerable elderly citizens through phone [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/","og_site_name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","article_published_time":"2025-11-19T03:43:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-19T03:44:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1088,"height":773,"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Mohul Ghosh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mohul Ghosh","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/","name":"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png","datePublished":"2025-11-19T03:43:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-19T03:44:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png","width":1088,"height":773},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/21-year-old-indian-student-sentenced-to-97-months-prison-for-multi-million-dollar-fraud\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"21-Year Old Indian Student Sentenced To 97-Months Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/","name":"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups","description":"Trak.in is a popular Indian Business, Technology, Mobile &amp; Startup blog featuring trending News, views and analytical take on Technology, Business, Finance, Telecom, Mobile, startups &amp; Social Media Space","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5092a7d2906e3f3c819643435477c2a7","name":"Mohul Ghosh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/66c129d83dd3f325a3b550eb1aa16891173ddfc4686361424206cd9a01311c89?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mohul Ghosh"},"url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/author\/mohul-ghosh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-19-091307.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1302731"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1302744,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1302731\/revisions\/1302744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1302743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1302731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1302731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1302731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}