Washington, Oct 29 (IANS) A senior US Justice Department official has highlighted cooperation with Indian law enforcement in shutting down technology-support and government-impersonation scams.
Richard Goldberg, director of the department's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative, described the cooperation at a Washington Foreign Press Centre briefing on Wednesday (local time). He did not announce a new operation in India or specify dates, arrests or financial recoveries associated with the Indian cases.
"We've worked with Indian law enforcement to shut down tech support and government imposter fraud schemes throughout India," Goldberg said.
His remarks placed India among several countries where US prosecutors and investigators have worked with local authorities against criminal networks targeting Americans. The briefing provided a fresh account of that cooperation, rather than an announcement that the cited operations had taken place on Wednesday.
Goldberg said the Justice Department had also prosecuted cryptocurrency investment schemes in Southeast Asia, romance and business-email fraud in West Africa, lottery scams from Jamaica and timeshare fraud involving Mexican drug cartels.
He described a recurring challenge for investigators: criminals can launch a scheme in one country, use communications infrastructure in another and move proceeds through several more.
Cooperation with foreign authorities was essential to pursuing those networks, gathering evidence and recovering criminal proceeds, he said. Prosecutors were also working with overseas counterparts through training and other efforts to strengthen investigations.
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, told the briefing that she had visited India as part of her international engagement. She did not give a date for that visit or describe a new bilateral arrangement.
Pirro said her work with foreign law-enforcement agencies reflected a shared problem: countries hosting scam operations could also have victims among their own populations.
The officials stressed that cyber fraud affected both people who lost money and trafficking victims forced to work inside scam compounds.
Heith Janke, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Division, said the bureau's overseas law-enforcement attaches helped build relationships and share intelligence with partner countries. Such links were particularly important when victims were in the United States but criminal organisations operated abroad.
Janke also highlighted government impersonation as a recurring tactic. He said investigators had encountered setups designed to make scammers appear to be law-enforcement officials from different countries.
The officials also urged greater public awareness alongside prosecutions. Goldberg said journalists could help warn households about fraud schemes and encourage local authorities to act.
"We cannot prosecute our way out of this problem," he said.
The briefing did not identify the Indian agencies involved in the operations Goldberg cited. Nor did it provide case names or a separate estimate of losses prevented through US–India cooperation.
The Justice Department's Criminal Division launched the Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative in the summer of 2026, according to Goldberg. It brings together prosecutors and specialists in fraud, cybercrime, money laundering, international evidence-gathering, extradition and asset forfeiture.
The District of Columbia's separate Scam Centre Strike Force was established in November 2025, Pirro said. Its work has included investigations into cryptocurrency fraud networks, disruption of websites and efforts to secure the extradition of defendants from overseas.
--IANS
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