Saturday, December 20, 2025
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

Canadian Couple In Their 70s Among The Dead In Tennessee Wildfire

Canadian Couple In Their 70s Among The Dead In Tennessee Wildfire
Authorities say 71-year-old Jon Tegler and 70-year-old Janet Tegler are among 13 people who have died as a result of the fires.

Canadian Couple In Their 70s Among The Dead In Tennessee Wildfire

Doug Ford Not Running For Toronto City Council In Byelection

TORONTO — Former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford, brother of the controversial late mayor Rob Ford, says he will not be running for a vacant seat in Toronto's city council.

Doug Ford Not Running For Toronto City Council In Byelection

Donald Trump Has Now Named Half Cabinet, With Pick Of General: What His Team Looks Like

Donald Trump Has Now Named Half Cabinet, With Pick Of General: What His Team Looks Like
WASHINGTON — With the nomination of retired general James (Mad Dog) Mattis as his defence secretary Thursday, Donald Trump has now named about half his cabinet.

Donald Trump Has Now Named Half Cabinet, With Pick Of General: What His Team Looks Like

Suspected Italian Serial Killer Couple May Have Killed Dozens

Suspected Italian Serial Killer Couple May Have Killed Dozens
An Italian doctor and his nurse lover arrested this week near Milan are suspected of killing dozens of people from 2011-2014, including the woman's husband, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Suspected Italian Serial Killer Couple May Have Killed Dozens

2 Indian-American Executives Arrested On Fraud Charges In US

2 Indian-American Executives Arrested On Fraud Charges In US
Two Indian American top executives of a software and consulting firm have been arrested in the US for allegedly misrepresenting the company's finances, a media report said on Thursday.

2 Indian-American Executives Arrested On Fraud Charges In US

Sushma Swaraj Seeks Report On Indian Stranded In UAE

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought a report from the Indian Consulate in Dubai about an NRI after local media reported about the man's desperate bid to return home.

Sushma Swaraj Seeks Report On Indian Stranded In UAE