Indian American Charged in $13 Million Tech-Support Scam Targeting Over 7,000 Victims

An Indian American man has been arrested in connection with a technical support scam that targeted more than 7,000 victims in the United States, defrauding them of more than $13 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Aug. 31. Manoj Yadav, 40, of Clifton, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His victims mainly consisted of small business owners and the elderly, according to a Department of Justice press release. 

Documents filed in this case and statements made in court indicate that starting 2017 through 2023, Yadav and his co-conspirators, many of whom were in India, posed as a technology support company affiliated with a major U.S. business and accounting software company that developed and sold a widely used accounting software product. They operated under multiple fraudulent business names. 

They would contact victims under the guise of fixing technical issues with the accounting software, and would either charge them “exorbitant fees or additional subscription fees,” the DOJ said. These “services” were all fraudulent, and would not cost any additional money for customers who contacted the actual software company,” the DOJ said, adding that it “never authorized Yadav or his conspirators to act on its behalf or charge any fees”

Not only did Yadav personally participate in these schemes, he “funneled millions of dollars from these victims to his conspirators,” the DOJ said. Additionally, to “prevent back charges,” he “used these entity names to falsely hold himself out to banks and victim customers as an accounting company legitimately affiliated with the software company,” the DOJ said, citing a complaint from the Better Business Bureau. He sent his conspirators over $13 million in funds obtained from victims and would routinely keep approximately 17 percent when he wired funds to the conspirators.

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The count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries “a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross profit or loss caused by the offense, whichever is greatest,” the DOJ noted.