Amit Chaudhry pleaded guilty on September 21st to identity theft and money laundering.
Indian American Amit Chaudhry has been sentenced to 9 years in Federal Prison for Multimillion Dollar fraud scheme, The Washington Post reported.
The 44-year-old from Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 21st to identity theft and money laundering.
“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 newspaper 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 package. 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 group used images of fake passports when their charges were challenged.
FBI uncovered the scheme in part when an agent recognized the photo in one passport as actress Laura Vandervoot. The photo was taken from a scene of her television show ‘V’ involving visas.
Defense attorney Danny Onorato told The Washington Post that “this was all done out of family loyalty.â€
Onorato added that Chaudhry has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which might help explain his behavior.
“Asperger’s doesn’t cause anyone to steal or open credit card accounts in someone else’s name,†Assistant US Attorney Katherine Wong argued.