Close X
Friday, November 29, 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

UK Leader Theresa May To Appear In US Vogue Magazine

UK Leader Theresa May To Appear In US Vogue Magazine
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to appear in the American edition of Vogue magazine.

UK Leader Theresa May To Appear In US Vogue Magazine

All 5 Indian American Lawmakers Nominated To Key Congressional Panels

All 5 Indian American Lawmakers Nominated To Key Congressional Panels
All five Indian American lawmakers have been nominated to key Congressional panels

All 5 Indian American Lawmakers Nominated To Key Congressional Panels

2 Canadians Dead, 2 Injured Among 5 Killed In Mexico Nightclub Shooting

2 Canadians Dead, 2 Injured Among 5 Killed In Mexico Nightclub Shooting
Two Canadians were among at least five people killed Monday in a shooting attack at an electronic music festival in Mexico's Caribbean coast resort of Playa del Carmen, Mexican authorities said.

2 Canadians Dead, 2 Injured Among 5 Killed In Mexico Nightclub Shooting

After Indian Flag Doormat, Amazon Lists Mahatma Gandhi Flip-Flops For Sale

After Indian Flag Doormat, Amazon Lists Mahatma Gandhi Flip-Flops For Sale
Amazon has once again degraded an important Indian symbol - that of the Father of the Nation - by placing it on the ground, below the feet, dishonoring it.

After Indian Flag Doormat, Amazon Lists Mahatma Gandhi Flip-Flops For Sale

Watch: Video Catches Nanny Burning Long Island Indian-Origin Boy, 2, With Curling Iron

Watch: Video Catches Nanny Burning Long Island Indian-Origin Boy, 2, With Curling Iron
Police arrested Nxumalo, 21, on Thursday and charged her with assault and endangering the welfare of a child

Watch: Video Catches Nanny Burning Long Island Indian-Origin Boy, 2, With Curling Iron

Indian American Teen Crushes Indian Woman In Miami To Death With Truck, Arrested

Indian American Teen Crushes Indian Woman In Miami To Death With Truck, Arrested
Madhav Sood, was arrested earlier this month for crushing to death another Indian, Florida resident Priya Pachauri, while racing his pickup truck.

Indian American Teen Crushes Indian Woman In Miami To Death With Truck, Arrested