Texas Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison For Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud

FORT WAYNE - Khalid Ahamad, 55 years old, of Little Elm, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.

Ahamad was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $2,617,107.82 in restitution to the victims of the offense, including a victim company in Fort Wayne. As part of the sentencing judgment, Chief Judge Brady ordered the forfeiture of the fraud proceeds derived from the offense, further ordering a money judgment against Ahamad in the amount of $2,617,107.82.

According to documents in the case, Ahamad knowingly conspired with others to defraud victims throughout the United States and taxpayers of millions of dollars and then laundered the fraud proceeds through his bank accounts. Starting in 2020, and extending through April of 2023, Ahamad and his conspirators engaged in several fraud schemes, including business email compromise schemes, unemployment benefits fraud from state agencies, and Small Business Administration loan fraud. The conspiracy primarily deceived victim businesses and some individuals into wiring money to accounts under Ahamad's control. After laundering the money through his accounts, Ahamad sent fraud proceeds via cryptocurrency to other conspirators. In total, the conspiracy tried to steal over $6 million, and Ahamad and his conspirators actually obtained over $2.6 million in fraud proceeds.

This conspiracy victimized many businesses through business email compromise schemes. With this type of scheme, conspirators gained access to a business's emails and obtained inside information about existing invoices and account payments. Conspirators then sent emails that looked legitimate and purported to change existing payment information, with the new payment account being under the control of a conspirator such as Ahamad. In wiring money, victims believed that they were sending payment to their vendors, clients, and business associates, but they were instead deceived into sending money to Ahamad.

"The Defendant was extremely sophisticated. Thanks to the professional investigation put together by the FBI with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut, the Defendant was caught, prosecuted, and sentenced," Mildred said.

"This 70-month prison sentence is another example of the FBI and our law enforcement partners working tirelessly to protect victims from fraudsters and scammers," said Timothy J. O'Malley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Indianapolis Office.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from The Colony, Texas, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Sheridan and Anthony Geller.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.