Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ News / World/  Two Indian-Americans sentenced for massive credit card fraud
BackBack

Two Indian-Americans sentenced for massive credit card fraud

Two Indian Americans have been sentenced to over a year in jail and a year of house arrest in a $ 200 million international credit card fraud scheme

Each of them have been fined $5,000 and ordered to pay forfeiture of $451,259. Photo: ReutersPremium
Each of them have been fined $5,000 and ordered to pay forfeiture of $451,259. Photo: Reuters

Washington: Two Indian-American jewellery store owners have been sentenced by a New Jersey court to over a year in jail and a year of house arrest in a $ 200 million international credit card fraud scheme, one of the largest ever charged by US authorities.

Vijay Verma, 49, and Tarsem Lal, 78, owners of a jewellery store in New Jersey, have been sentenced to 14 months in prison and 12 months of home confinement, respectively, the Acting US Attorney William E Fitzpatrick said. Both had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges.

Verma and Lal were indicted in October 2013 as part of a scheme to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards.

According to court documents, participants in the scheme doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards.

They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts – causing more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions, federal prosecutors alleged.

These debts were incurred at Verma’s jewellery store, among many other locations, where Verma would allow fraudulently obtain credit cards to be swiped in phony transactions, court papers said.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Verma and Lal each admitted allowing others who came to their Jersey City, New Jersey, store to swipe cards they knew did not legitimately belong to them.

Verma and Lal would then split the proceeds of the phony transactions with these other conspirators. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Thompson sentenced Verma to three years of supervised release and Lal to three years of probation.

Each of them have been fined $5,000 and ordered to pay forfeiture of $451,259. PTI

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 28 Mar 2017, 05:26 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App