Export, PA Man Pleads Guilty in IRS Impersonation Fraud Scheme

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.

Michael Galanis, 32, of Export, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from in or around March 2016 to in or around August 2017, Galanis participated in an IRS impersonation fraud conspiracy. The IRS impersonation fraud scheme involved call centers located in India that would use phone numbers to make their calls appear to originate in the United States. The calls would provide recorded information to individuals in the United States and fraudulently claim that the call was from the IRS concerning the individual’s failure to pay taxes. The call would provide a U.S.-based telephone number for the individual to call in order to resolve the matter. Calls to these U.S.-based telephone numbers would be automatically forwarded to call centers in India, and those who answered would tell callers that they owed money to the IRS and demand immediate payment via gift card or other means.

The court was further advised that Galanis was involved in activating cell phones in the United States to assist in this fraud scheme. Galanis knew that the cell phones that he programmed were used for a fraud scheme. At all times, Galanis activated these cell phones in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The government estimated that the total loss in this case is between $150,000 and $250,000.

Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for August 13, 2021. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The matter was investigated by United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, United States Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Anyone with information about allegations of elder fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 833–372–8311. More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.

###