A Michigan man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for mail fraud and money laundering in an international telemarketing scheme involving a call center in Pakistan, officials said.

Irfan Gill, 63, of Portage, was sentenced after being convicted of seven counts of mail fraud and eleven counts of money laundering. He was also ordered to pay $561,980.27 in restitution to all victims affected by the scheme.

“Irfan Gill preyed on elderly Americans to line his pocket, leaving the victims scared and devastated,” said US Attorney Mark Totten. “Every day, these scams happen across America and target vulnerable members of our communities. We fight to bring these criminals to justice, but most of all we want to prevent these crimes. I encourage everyone to protect themselves and their loved ones: be wary of unsolicited calls; never share sensitive information; and resist the pressure to act quickly.”

During his trial, evidence showed that between June 2018 and March 2022, Gill worked with a call center in Pakistan to defraud more than 1,500 US seniors to pay for cable and satellite television upgrades and subscription discounts that were never offered.

Officials say people at the call center convinced the victims to send checks and money orders to PO boxes in Portage. Sometimes the callers even threatened to shut off the victims’ television services if they did not follow their instructions.

Once the payments were sent, Gill would deposit them into bank accounts under the names of bogus cable companies, including Cable Upgrade, D Network, D Tech, Direct Network, Dish, Dish Upgrade and Sky Satellite.

Gill kept track of all payments and calculated how much money to keep for himself and what to send to Pakistan.

Throughout the scheme, Gill evaded capture by having multiple bank accounts and mailboxes. It also allegedly convinced the bank’s investigators that all the fake companies were real.

Gill also failed to pay taxes on the funds from this scheme and received a $20,000 COVID-19 Wage Protection Program loan under one of his shell companies.

“This sentence underscores the US Postal Inspection Service’s dedication to protecting our most vulnerable citizens, especially the elderly, from those who seek to exploit them for personal financial gain,” said Inspector-in-Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of US Postal Inspection Service, Detroit. Division. “This individual’s fraudulent activities have caused victims untold financial and emotional distress, and today’s sentence reaffirms our commitment to protecting the public from such schemes. We will continue to be vigilant in seeking justice for those who would kidnap the vulnerable.”