3 Wray men indicted for collecting $7.5 million through threatening phone calls

Three former Wray residents have been indicted on federal money laundering charges, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announced Wednesday. 

James Albert Witte, 68, Jason Lee Henderson, 36, and Indian national Dhruv Jani, 39, are accused of contacting U.S. citizens by phone and misrepresenting themselves as federal law enforcement agents. They trio coerced 54 victims into sending a total of $7.5 million. 

During the scheme, the three men played the roles of authorities from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

"The conspirators told these victims that their identities had been connected to a criminal incident, their imminent arrest and/or deportation from the United States had been ordered by law enforcement, and that the only way to avoid arrest and or deportation was to pay the 'Government' large sums of money, as instructed," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated in a press release.

The indictment alleges that Witte and Henderson used fake IDs provided to them by Jani to pick up packages of cash sent to several different Walgreens stores in northeastern Colorado and metro Denver. Stores location listed in the indictment include Fort Morgan, Greeley, Aurora, and Littleton. Amounts ranging from $10,000 to $230,000 were sent to those locations, according to the indictment.

The men were captured on the stores' video surveillance picking up the packages and, in some cases, making purchases at the store using Jani's debit card.  

Jani allegedly also threatened to kill his estranged wife in Colorado with his "own hands" due to her filing for divorce and withdrawing her support for his green card, according to the press release.  

Jani and Henderson made their initial appearances in federal court Tuesday. Witte made his initial appearance in court on Wednesday. All three are scheduled to enter trial proceedings on Oct. 3.

The investigation and arrest of the three men was conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG), United States Postal Inspection Service, Department of Homeland Security-OIG, and the Sterling, Colorado Police Department. The District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District has also provided assistance.

A search of online public records shows Witte and Henderson lived on the same block of Grant Street in Wray at the same time.