$200 mn credit card fraud: 5 Indians among 18 charged in New York

NEWARK: At least five Indian-origin men are among 18 people charged in New York for running a whopping $200 million global credit card fraud under which they used thousands of fake identities to dupe businesses and financial firms and wired millions of dollars to Pakistan and India.

In one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the US department of justice, the men fabricated identities to obtain credit cards and doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards.

They would then borrow or spend as much as they could based on their fraudulently obtained credit history and not repay the debts, looting businesses and financial institutions of more than $200 million in confirmed losses, United States attorney Paul Fishman said.

Law enforcement officers from the FBI arrested 13 men and searched locations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Among those charged are Babar Quereshi (59), Ijaz Butt (53), Raghbir Singh (57), Mohammad Khan (48), Sat Verma (60), Vijay Verma (45), Tarsem Lal (74) and Vinod Dadlani (49). Each of them faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in jail and a $1 million fine.

"The criminal activity highlights an extensive, sophisticated, organized scheme, executed against US financial institutions, which, in turn, affects every US citizen," acting special agent in charge David Velazquez said.

"This elaborate network utilized thousands of false identities, fraudulent bank accounts, fake companies and collusive merchants to defraud financial institutions of hundreds of millions of dollars in order to facilitate extravagant lifestyles they could otherwise not afford," he said.

Fourteen defendants appeared before a federal judge on Tuesday afternoon. Lawyers said one man was a taxi driver, another a limo driver. Most own property in New Jersey or New York and said they were US citizens. Eight were released, and six remained in custody ahead of a Friday bail hearing.

Authorities said many of the defendants had family ties, including a father and son. Four of the defendants named in Tuesday's indictment were arrested previously and three have pleaded guilty. Others haven't been charged, and the investigation is ongoing.