Close X
Sunday, September 22, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian Immigrant Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For $25 Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme In US

Darpan News Desk, 03 Mar, 2017 11:22 AM
  • Indian Immigrant Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For $25 Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme In US
The FBI caught hint of the scam after the group used images of fake passports, including one that featured Canadian actress Laura Vandervoort's image from a television show.
 
An Indian-American man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for a multi-million dollar fraud scheme.
 
Amit Chaudhry, 44, from Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 21 last year to identity theft, money laundering and visa fraud.
 
"I never really dreamt of being a felon. This is going to haunt me for the rest of my life," Chaudhry said in Alexandria federal court on Thursday before being sentenced, the Washington Post reported.
 
According to the report, Chaudhry, who emigrated from India in 1992, helped his relatives overseas to operate a multimillion-dollar scam that involved money laundering from stolen credit cards and identities through shell bank accounts.
 
He was also part of a related scheme, advertising cheap travel packages. Clients' money would be stolen and their hotel and airfare would be paid for with stolen credit cards.
 
They also made more than $25 million off fake credit cards with the help of a co-conspirator working at American Express in India, the Washington Post report said. 
 
 
The group also used images of fake passports.
 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uncovered the scheme in part when an agent recognised a photo in one passport as actress Laura Vandervoot. The photo was taken from a scene of her television show "V" involving visas.
 
"What we're dealing with here is not a casual wrong turn," said Jeffrey Abish, the chief information officer for the defrauded company ActioNet. 
 
Chaudhry sent inflated and imagined IT invoices to the company, netting $4.1 million that he has now pledged to repay, according to the report.
 
Defence attorney Danny Onorato told The Post that "this was all done out of family loyalty".
 
Onorato added that Chaudhry has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, which might help explain his behaviour.
 
However, Assistant US Attorney Katherine Wong protested Onorato's argument, saying: "Asperger's doesn't cause anyone to steal or open credit card accounts in someone else's name."
 
Chaudhry is cooperating with authorities, who are still finding more victims and tracking down co-conspirators in the US and abroad. 

MORE International ARTICLES

US Republican Senator Orrin Hatch Seeks Reforms In H-1B Visa System

US Republican Senator Orrin Hatch Seeks Reforms In H-1B Visa System
A top US Senator has sought reform in H-1B visas system to bring in highly qualified workers from other countries to fill the huge shortage of IT professionals in the US.

US Republican Senator Orrin Hatch Seeks Reforms In H-1B Visa System

Hitler’s Red Phone Up For Auction; Bids To Start At $100K

Hitler’s Red Phone Up For Auction; Bids To Start At $100K
A Maryland auction house is selling Adolf Hitler's personal travelling telephone.

Hitler’s Red Phone Up For Auction; Bids To Start At $100K

Indian-Origin London Man Forges Mother's Will For Family's £160 Million Palm Oil Business

Indian-Origin London Man Forges Mother's Will For Family's £160 Million Palm Oil Business
An Indian-origin man has been branded a "liar" and faces a bill of over 1 million pounds in legal fees after a UK court ruled that he had forged his mother's will.

Indian-Origin London Man Forges Mother's Will For Family's £160 Million Palm Oil Business

Indian Man, 58, Admits To Molesting Woman On US Flight

Indian Man, 58, Admits To Molesting Woman On US Flight
An Indian man pleaded guilty to molesting a sleeping woman on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in the US.

Indian Man, 58, Admits To Molesting Woman On US Flight

Body Of Indian Techie Killed In US Brought Home

Body Of Indian Techie Killed In US Brought Home
The body of Indian software engineer Vamshi Reddy Mamidala, who was shot dead in the Us, was brought home on Friday.

Body Of Indian Techie Killed In US Brought Home

At Indian Restaurant In UK, Diners Were Mid-Meal When Cockroaches Shut It Down

At Indian Restaurant In UK, Diners Were Mid-Meal When Cockroaches Shut It Down
A resident of the district made us aware that a pest control company had been visiting Sands. 

At Indian Restaurant In UK, Diners Were Mid-Meal When Cockroaches Shut It Down