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

10 Killed, 100 Hurt In Pakistan While Performing Bike Stunts On Eid

10 Killed, 100 Hurt In Pakistan While Performing Bike Stunts On Eid
At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 injured while performing dangerous stunts by riding bikes rashly in between the traffic in Pakistan's different cities on the occasion of Eid, officials said on Thursday.

10 Killed, 100 Hurt In Pakistan While Performing Bike Stunts On Eid

Indian-American Businessman Jailed For 15 Months For Fraud

Indian-American Businessman Jailed For 15 Months For Fraud
Tarsem Singh, a businessman from Fairfax in Virginia, pled guilty to the charge in last December in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Indian-American Businessman Jailed For 15 Months For Fraud

Man Admits Killing Muslim Shopkeeper Who 'Disrespected Islam'

Man Admits Killing Muslim Shopkeeper Who 'Disrespected Islam'
A 32-year-old man on Thursday admitted fatally stabbing a Pakistani Ahmadi Muslim shopkeeper in the UK for what he perceived as disrespect to Islam.

Man Admits Killing Muslim Shopkeeper Who 'Disrespected Islam'

Indian Family Killed In Accident In New York After A Drunk Driver Makes Head-On Collision

Chandan Gavai, and his parents Archana Gavai, 60, and Kamalnayan Gavai, 74, died when Gustave Geyer crashed into the family's car on Yaphank Middle Island Road in Long Island late Monday night.

Indian Family Killed In Accident In New York After A Drunk Driver Makes Head-On Collision

New Zealand denies visas to Indian students

New Zealand denies visas to Indian students
New Zealand has denied visas to thousands of Indian students who wanted to study in the country, a media report said on Friday.

New Zealand denies visas to Indian students

Indian-Origin Businessman Tarsem Singh Gets Prison For $6 Million Contract Fraud

Indian-Origin Businessman Tarsem Singh Gets Prison For $6 Million Contract Fraud
Tarsem Singh was sentenced by Washington Federal Judge Reggie Walton, who also fined him $25,000 and ordered him to pay about $120,000 in restitution, officials said on Wednesday.

Indian-Origin Businessman Tarsem Singh Gets Prison For $6 Million Contract Fraud