Shahgar Thakkar was a multimillionaire.
The mastermind of the Mira Road call center scam in which 1.2 million Americans were called up and at least 6,400 cheated, may have left India.
The mastermind Shahgar Thakkar, alias Shaggy, is a 23-year-old youth who is on the run since Thane police raided the call center on Tuesday last week.
“Despite his youth, Thakkar has made a fortune, that too in a short span of time. At a very young age he has mastered the art of cheating foreigners by sitting in India,” a police officer told The Times of India.
More than 500 employees of the call center have been detained by the police for allegedly threatening and cheating US citizens. The police have also initiated a manhunt for Shaggy’s aide Tapash who has also fled Thane since the police operation.
The police officers have got some relevant information about Shaggy from the testimonies of the detainees. They told the police that Shaggy was a multimillionaire who owns several high-end cars.
“Some of our seniors used to motivate us to get more business by holding Thakkar as an example for his lavish lifestyle and flamboyance. He would often visit our call center,” said an accused.
The call centers were also training the employees to speak American accent and were also given a daily target to achieve. According to Police, the call centers had a daily turnover of over Rs. 10 million.
Seven floors of the nine-storey building were owned by the call center with each floor having 70 to 120 employees. The top floor was assigned for those making as low as $150,000 per month and the lowest floors were for those making $500,000-$700,000 per month.
“We have found a couple of WhatsApp groups on which the call center employees were present and would get data on gullible US citizens,” said a police officer.
According to the reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is believed to have approached the Thane police for case details.
According to police, the employees working in the call center posed themselves as US Revenue Department officials and the victims were asked for bank details after which the caller would hack into the bank account transferring money without the knowledge of the account holder.