Close X
Saturday, November 16, 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

Trump Attacks 'Disgusting' Miss Universe Alicia Machado In Tweets

Trump Attacks 'Disgusting' Miss Universe Alicia Machado In Tweets
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump once again attacked "disgusting" former Miss Universe Alicia Machado in a series of early morning tweets, and urged his followers to "check out (her) sex tape and past".

Trump Attacks 'Disgusting' Miss Universe Alicia Machado In Tweets

Pakistani Held In Bangkok For Supplying Fake Passports To Criminal Syndicates, Terrorist Groups

Pakistani Held In Bangkok For Supplying Fake Passports To Criminal Syndicates, Terrorist Groups
Further in 2012, two Pakistanis and a Thai woman were arrested on the suspicion of making false passports for al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Pakistani Held In Bangkok For Supplying Fake Passports To Criminal Syndicates, Terrorist Groups

Hillary Clinton Fears Nuclear Suicide Bombers From Pakistan

Hillary Clinton Fears Nuclear Suicide Bombers From Pakistan
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has expressed concern over the possibility of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of jihadists, which she said was "a threatening scenario", according to a media report.

Hillary Clinton Fears Nuclear Suicide Bombers From Pakistan

Donald Trump Claims Presidential Debate Was Rigged

Donald Trump Claims Presidential Debate Was Rigged
  Addressing his supporters at an election rally in New Hampshire, 70-year-old Trump said the first debate was a "rigged deal".

Donald Trump Claims Presidential Debate Was Rigged

Indian-Origin Man Killed In High-Speed Crash In UK

Indian-Origin Man Killed In High-Speed Crash In UK
  Sagar Chadha, speeding at about 120mph before the fatal crash that killed him and 17-year-old Mohammed Amin Ahmadi on New Year's Day this year, the inquest said.

Indian-Origin Man Killed In High-Speed Crash In UK

New Jersey Train Crashes Into Station During Morning Rush Hour; 3 Dead, 100 Injured

New Jersey Train Crashes Into Station During Morning Rush Hour; 3 Dead, 100 Injured
Hoboken, which is NJ Transit's fifth-busiest station with 15,000 boardings per weekday, is situated just across the Hudson River from New York City.

New Jersey Train Crashes Into Station During Morning Rush Hour; 3 Dead, 100 Injured