Ravindra Gupta, Technical-Support Fraud, Florida 2024

A federal court has ordered Ravindra Gupta and five companies to stop engaging in a technical-support fraud scheme that is alleged to have defrauded hundreds of elderly and vulnerable U.S. victims, the Justice Department announced today.

The temporary restraining order issued by the court follows the filing of a complaint by the United States, which seeks both preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent the defendants from further victimizing U.S. consumers. The complaint filed by the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, which Attorney General Barr established last year to combat foreign fraud schemes targeting older Americans.

According to the complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the defendants’ scheme contacted U.S. consumers via internet pop-up messages that falsely appeared to be security alerts from Microsoft or another well-known company. The pop-up messages fraudulently claimed that the consumer’s computer was infected by a virus, purported to run a scan of the consumer’s computer, falsely confirmed the presence of a virus and malware, and then provided a toll-free number to call for assistance.

When victims called the toll-free number, they were connected to India-based call centers participating in the fraud scheme. Call center workers asked victims to give them remote access to their computers and told victims that they detected viruses or other malware on their computers. Eventually, the call center workers would falsely diagnose non-existent problems and ask victims to pay hundreds of dollars for unnecessary services and software.

In an unprecedented collaborative effort, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India took actions in parallel with today’s filing against corporate and individual participants in the scheme located in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, and Jaipur. CBI, India’s federal investigative agency, took note of the international fraud being perpetrated by these companies operating from various locations in India. CBI registered a criminal case against five companies involved in the scheme and conducted an investigation to identify and locate the perpetrators of the crime.

Coordinated search operations were conducted at the offices of these companies and at the residences of the directors of the entities. According to CBI, incriminating digital evidence related to the scheme was collected and seized during the searches.

“Today’s filing reflects the Justice Department’s continuing commitment to use all tools available to protect seniors from fraud, especially schemes perpetrated by transnational criminal organizations,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Civil Division. “The Justice Department sincerely appreciates the CBI’s efforts to disrupt and prosecute technical-support fraud, government imposter fraud, and all other schemes directed at the American public.”

“Fraud schemes that target the most vulnerable members of our society, including the elderly, will be not be tolerated in our district,” said U.S Attorney Ariana Fajardo-Orshan for the Southern District of Florida. “Our Office has and will continue to protect consumers through both civil and criminal prosecutions. We urge consumers not to click on any pop-up messages or links that appear on their computer devices claiming that the devices are infected by viruses and at risk of irreversible damage. Consumers should delete those pop-ups and instead contact their software provider or local computer consultant directly.”

The FBI works with its local, state, federal and international partners to combat technical fraud schemes, said Assistant Director of the International Operations Division Charles Spencer. “We will continue to collaborate with law enforcement partners in or out of the country to put an end to these schemes that target our most vulnerable citizens.

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