Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office – Northern District of Mississippi
Mar 10, 2025-An illegal alien from India was sentenced on March 7 to five years in prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $104,000 in restitution for committing wire fraud in connection with scamming victims.
According to court documents, Nooruddin Bhai Nasruddin, 52, was involved in a wire fraud conspiracy where the callers contacted victims and notified them that their bank accounts and/or social security numbers were compromised. The callers instructed the victims to withdraw the cash, which would be picked up by an alleged “federal agent,” which was in reality Nasruddin. The caller provided the victim with a special code to give to the “federal agent” (Nasruddin).
In May of 2024, Victim #1 in North Carolina received notification from a caller co-conspirator that Ticketmaster had a data breach, and Victim #1 was in the group of compromised accounts. The caller co-conspirator told the victim that the money in the victim’s bank account was not safe and instructed the victim to first deposit thousands of dollars into a Bitcoin (digital currency) machine, which the caller co-conspirator said was controlled by the government. In reality, the money went to the fraudsters. Then, the caller told the victim to withdraw all the money into the bank account and provide the money and a special code to a federal agent, who in reality was co-conspirator, Nasruddin. The victim withdrew the cash and gave it and the special code to Nasruddin, who was posing as a federal agent.
In August 2024, Victim #2 in Oxford was contacted by the caller co-conspirator, posing as a member of the Federal Trade Commission. The caller co-conspirator stated that the victim’s social security number and bank account was compromised. The caller co-conspirator instructed the victim to withdraw the money and give it to the federal agent for safekeeping. The caller co-conspirator also instructed the victim to send a picture of the money to the caller co-conspirator. Nasruddin (posing as the federal agent) showed up to pick up the money and was arrested by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department.
U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Nasruddin to serve 60 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $104,000 in restitution to his victims.
Following the sentencing, both state and federal leaders acknowledged the importance of this investigation and prosecution to the State of Mississippi and condemned the defendant’s fraudulent actions.
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“The United States of America will never tell citizens over the phone to withdraw their hard-earned money and send it to the government in cryptocurrency or for safekeeping. Too many fraudsters take advantage of the trust that Americans have in their government and government agencies. Those that abuse that hard earned trust will be prosecuted, and in this case marked for removal from our country as well.” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said. “The Lafayette County Sheriff and HSI did truly outstanding work in responding as quickly as they did in this case, and we appreciate the partnership that brought some measure of justice to this defendant.”
“This case highlights law enforcement partnerships addressing the criminal illegal alien issues in our communities,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune. “Our communities are safer today with this criminal being held accountable for his actions.“
“The Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office is proud to have a great working relationship with our State and Federal Agencies,” added Sheriff Joey East of the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department. “They eagerly jumped in and assisted our office with this investigation of fraud against our citizens. Our number one priority is and always will be the safety of our citizens in Lafayette County.”
The Department of Homeland Security and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clyde McGee and John Herzog prosecuted the case.
