A 33-year-old Indo-Canadian was detained by Canadian law enforcement on Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged technical support fraud that also involved operations by Indian and American authorities.
In response to a search warrant being carried out by Peel Regional Police at the home of Jayant Bhatia, a resident of Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), on Wednesday, “evidence in relation to a cyber-enabled fraud investigation spanning international borders across two continents” was seized, according to a release made on Friday.
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Cybercriminals have advanced in sophistication, and the crime knows no boundaries. Our law enforcement colleagues must adopt a more calm and cooperative attitude, according to deputy Nick Milinovich of Peel Regional Police Investigative & Emergency Services.
With the help of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadian investigators from Peel Regional Police’s Cyber Support Services and the Fraud Bureau participated (CAFC). The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that a total of six people had been detained in connection with “a transnational technical support fraud that targeted more than 20,000 victims.”
Charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and substantive violations of wire fraud and computer fraud were brought against Gagan Lamba, 41, Harshad Madaan, 34, and Vikash Gupta, 33, all of New Delhi, along with Bhatia.
A fifth defendant, Kulwinder Singh, 34, of Richmond Hill, New York, was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and engaging in financial transactions with property obtained from a specific illegal activity. Lamba, Madaan, Bhatia, and Singh were the other defendants who were charged.
Bhatia was accused of crimes stemming from his involvement in a sophisticated fraud operation. Meghna Kumar, a sixth defendant from Edison, New Jersey, entered a guilty plea before the judge on Wednesday by videoconference in relation to “participating in monetary transactions in property resulting from specified illicit behavior.”
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The defendants were accused of taking part in a “high-tech, international extortion operation.” “They routinely preyed upon senior individuals and intimidated them into paying for unneeded and useless computer repair services,” stated US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
The alleged fraud allegedly went on for ten years. The press release claimed that by duping its victims “into believing that their personal computers were infected with a virus or malware and then persuading the victims to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to the fraud ring for phoney computer repair services,” the “fraud ring” amassed over $10 million in proceeds.
