McLean man offering bogus computer tech support gets federal prison sentence
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said a McLean man would serve a three-year sentence for helping to steal $1.6 million from more than 1,300 mostly elderly victims.
When a computer crashes and a pop-up notification on the screen says to ask for help removing malware, users may have no choice but to comply.
It’s one of the scams that Bruhaspaty Prasad, 33, of McLean, Va., pulled off by conspiring with several other people – mostly based in India at a tech support call center – according to ministry court documents. American Justice.
On Friday, Prasad learned he would be jailed for three years for helping to steal $1.6 million from more than 1,300 mostly elderly victims, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District. of Virginia.
Various scams were in play from April 2016 to September 2021.
Prasad’s co-conspirators contacted the victims through unsolicited phone calls and pop-up notifications. One of the schemes involved call center employees claiming to be associated with companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.
Victims were tricked into believing that there were problems with their online accounts and that they needed to sign technical support contracts.
Once victims agreed to pay, many became repeat victims – they were frequently re-contacted to be charged additional fees for services that were never rendered.
Three companies that Prasad opened in Virginia fraudulently offering technical assistance received money from the other programs.
Amazon provided law enforcement with substantial assistance during the investigation.
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