A Jeannette man will spend 33 months in federal prison and two years of probation for his role in a scheme where participants impersonated IRS officials who demanded immediate payoff of fake back taxes.
The Trib reports that 41-year-old Ronnell Taylor was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Victims received phone calls from US-based numbers saying that they had owed back taxes and gave a phone number to make payment. Taylor activated cell phones and worked with two others to program them so incoming calls would be directed to call centers in India. Call takers there requested payment in the form of gift cards or other means and threatened consequences, according to prosecutors. The scheme happened for about 18 months between 2016 and 2017.
Taylor was also ordered to pay restitution to 27 victims.
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