Close X
Monday, November 18, 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

Bangladesh Police Deny Any Rescued Hostages In Their Custody

Bangladesh Police Deny Any Rescued Hostages In Their Custody
Masudur Rahman, a Dhaka police spokesman, said Saturday that Hasnat Karim, a British national, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student at the University of Toronto, were not in police custody.

Bangladesh Police Deny Any Rescued Hostages In Their Custody

Indian Family Has No Money To Bring Kins' Bodies Home From The US

Swapnil Gavai (34), Chandan's brother, a resident of Kalyan, reached New York in the second week of July and has been desperately approaching all authorities concerned there to let him have the bodies so that he can cremate them.

Indian Family Has No Money To Bring Kins' Bodies Home From The US

Marijuana Charges Stayed Against Burnaby, B.C., Realtor After Trial Delays

Marijuana Charges Stayed Against Burnaby, B.C., Realtor After Trial Delays
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has ruled that Maurizio Mastronardi's charter right to be tried within a reasonable amount of time was violated.

Marijuana Charges Stayed Against Burnaby, B.C., Realtor After Trial Delays

Indian-Origin UK Minister Priti Patel Vows To Create Millions Of Jobs

Successfully leaving the European Union will require a more outward looking Britain than ever before, deepening our international partnerships to secure our place in the world by supporting economic prosperity, stability and security overseas. 

Indian-Origin UK Minister Priti Patel Vows To Create Millions Of Jobs

Nice Attack: Hero Halts Killer's Rampage By Jumping Into The Truck, Crushed To Death

Nice Attack: Hero Halts Killer's Rampage By Jumping Into The Truck, Crushed To Death
The motorcyclist attempted to overtake the truck and even tried to open the driver's door, but he fell and ended up under the wheels of the truck

Nice Attack: Hero Halts Killer's Rampage By Jumping Into The Truck, Crushed To Death

Edmonton Student Unaccounted For In France; University 'Very Concerned'

Edmonton Student Unaccounted For In France; University 'Very Concerned'
EDMONTON — An Edmonton university says one of its students is missing after a deadly truck attack in France.

Edmonton Student Unaccounted For In France; University 'Very Concerned'