WASHINGTON: Atharva Shailesh Sathawane has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in the United States for his role in an international fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims and resulted in millions of dollars in losses, federal prosecutors said.
Sathawane, 23, was sentenced after a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida. The sentence was announced by US Attorney John P. Heekin.
Trial evidence and court documents showed that Sathawane acted as a courier in a complex fraud operation that preyed on elderly victims, many of them retirees. Victims were convinced to liquidate their retirement accounts and convert their savings into cash, gold, or both.