Close X
Sunday, November 17, 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

Manohar Parrikar Lashes Out At Pakistan, Compares It With Hell

Manohar Parrikar Lashes Out At Pakistan, Compares It With Hell
Amid escalating tension between New Delhi and Islamabad over the ongoing violence in the Kashmir Valley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said here that going to Pakistan was the same as going to hell.

Manohar Parrikar Lashes Out At Pakistan, Compares It With Hell

Pakistan Says South Asia Must Not Remain 'Prisoner Of Past'

Pakistan Says South Asia Must Not Remain 'Prisoner Of Past'
  "South Asia must not remain a 'prisoner of the past' but it should radiate fresh ideas and aspirations of our combined future," Radio Pakistan quoted Sadiq as saying.

Pakistan Says South Asia Must Not Remain 'Prisoner Of Past'

Montreal To Host Concert For World Health; Justin Trudeau And Bill Gates Invited

Montreal To Host Concert For World Health; Justin Trudeau And Bill Gates Invited
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are special guests who have been invited to the Sept. 17 show at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Montreal To Host Concert For World Health; Justin Trudeau And Bill Gates Invited

France Defends Burkini Ban On Tense Post-Attack Beaches

France Defends Burkini Ban On Tense Post-Attack Beaches
The mainly conservative mayors who have imposed the ban say the garment, which leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed, defies French laws on secularism. 

France Defends Burkini Ban On Tense Post-Attack Beaches

Jamaat-ud-Dawah Chief Hafiz Saeed To Pakistan Army Chief: Send Troops To Kashmir

Hafiz Saeed claimed that Kashmiris had announced before the partition that it wanted to remain with Pakistan. But after partition India forcibly sent army to Jammu and Kashmir. In a fresh rhetoric, Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed has asked army chief General Raheel Sharif to send troops to Kashmir to “obey” the pending order of Pakistan’s founder M A Jinnah. 

Jamaat-ud-Dawah Chief Hafiz Saeed To Pakistan Army Chief: Send Troops To Kashmir

Austria: Knife Attack On Train Wounds 2

Austria: Knife Attack On Train Wounds 2
Police say that a man attacked passengers on a train in western Austria, seriously wounding two people.

Austria: Knife Attack On Train Wounds 2