Washington: A US Attorney reported that an Indian American was detained in New Jersey on suspicion of participating in a technical support scam that defrauded over 7,000 victims out of more than USD 13 million.
Charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Manoj Yadav appeared before US Magistrate Judge José R Almonte in Newark federal court.
"The defendant and his conspirators are alleged to have misled their numerous victims into thinking that they were a legitimate technology support company affiliated with a major software company," US Attorney Philip R Sellinger said.
They allegedly charged the victims exorbitant fees for putative support services that were not authorised by the software company after purporting to offer technical support for problems with the well-known accounting software of the software provider.
"We allege Yadav lied to software users and forced them to pay for services that would usually come free with their initial purchase," FBI Special Agent in Charge James E Dennehy said. The maximum sentence for a conviction on a count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud is 20 years in prison and a fine of USD 2,50,000 or double the gross profit or loss brought on by the offence, whichever is higher.
"The amount he's accused of stealing from his victims and the number of victims seems shocking; however, we are seeing an incredible increase in all types of tech support scams. The fraudsters are pretty savvy in how they con money out of people, even those of us who think we're smart enough to not fall for it. If you think you're a victim, please reach out to the FBI,” Dennehy said.