The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration-related fraud is bearing fruit, as yet another foreign national faces hard time for bilking elderly Americans out of their life savings in a scheme that echoes the widespread hospice and welfare scams exposed earlier this month.
This latest conviction highlights how unchecked borders under the Biden era allowed criminals to infiltrate and exploit U.S. systems, targeting the most vulnerable while taxpayers foot the bill for the fallout.
Federal prosecutors in Florida have sentenced 23-year-old Indian national Atharva Shailesh Sathawane to 18 years in prison for his role in an international fraud ring that defrauded elderly victims across the country of over $15 million.
? BREAKING: An Indian illegal brought in under Biden has just been sentenced to 18 YEARS in prison for stealing $15 MILLION from elderly victims
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 21, 2026
They keep telling us these people come for a better life.
BS.
In reality, they come to steal from grandma. pic.twitter.com/CGdXM6C4s5
Sathawane, who was illegally in the U.S. after overstaying his student visa, acted as a courier, personally collecting and laundering approximately $6.6 million in cash and gold from seniors.
He also attempted to snag an additional $1.36 million in gold, but those efforts were stopped—once by a vigilant friend and again by law enforcement during an undercover sting in Gainesville.
According to the Department of Justice, the scheme involved call centers in India impersonating government officials or tech support to trick elderly victims into handing over their assets.
Sathawane’s arrest came as he tried to collect gold from a victim, thanks in part to a local Gainesville resident who assisted authorities in the bust.
The resident described the fraudsters as “highly skilled manipulators,” underscoring the sophisticated tactics used to exploit trusting seniors, as reported by WCJB.
This case adds to the growing list of foreign-led scams targeting America’s elderly, much like the billions in hospice fraud tied to mafia networks that CMS chief Dr. Mehmet Oz has been exposing in California and beyond.
As detailed in our earlier coverage, hospice fraud in Los Angeles alone is estimated at $3.5 billion, with foreign groups setting up sham operations to bill Medicare for nonexistent services.
Similarly, welfare scams in Minnesota have ballooned autism care spending by over 13,000% since 2018, often linked to immigrant communities exploiting loose policies.
These patterns reveal how Democrat-led sanctuary policies and lax border enforcement have invited criminal elements to plunder resources meant for American citizens, harming seniors and overburdening the system.
As the Trump team ramps up deportations and oversight, cases like this signal a shift toward accountability, reclaiming billions for genuine needs and securing borders against such exploitation.
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