Woman Enters Plea in Phony Debt Elimination Scheme

WETHERSFIELD, CT – A woman has entered a guilty plea for a role in a phony debt elimination scheme authorities said.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Urmila Sri Thakur, also known as Urmila Buddhu-Thakur and Indro Buddhu-Thakur, 72, of Wethersfield, entered the plea in Friday in New Haven federal court to what she termed, "a money laundering offense stemming from a fraudulent debt elimination scheme."

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2009 to June 2012, Tgajur, her former husband, Deowraj “Deo” Buddhu and their daughter, Sunita Buddhu, sold a debt elimination “program” to "vulnerable" individuals through various businesses, including Paradise Consulting Service, Hema, Inc., and Secured Redemption.

In exchange for "substantial fees," Deo Buddhu told victims about a little-known government fund that could be used to pay off mortgages and other debts, Daly said.

In fact, no such fund exists, she added.

Buddhu instructed his victims to stop making payments on their mortgages, credit cards and other debts, and to stop paying their property taxes, Daly said.

He also provided his victims with fictitious promissory notes, which he called “bonds,” as well as other frivolous documentation, and advised his victims to use them to pay their debts.

On June 12, 2012, the day after Deo Buddhu’s arrest, Thakur withdrew $75,000 from a certificate of deposit account that contained funds from the scheme, court papers indicate.

She also obtained several cashier’s checks, including one for $50,000 made payable to Thakur, which she thereafter negotiated using accounts in the name of SDK SYS Solutions and TRK Consulting Services, according to court records.

Thakur agreed to plead guilty to one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford on Nov. 20.

As part of her plea, Thakur agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $335,072, which is the amount attributable to the underlying fraudulent debt elimination scheme.

Thakur has been released on a $250,000 bond, pending sentencing.

Deo Buddhu and Sunita Buddhu were previously convicted in Hartford federal court.

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