US Department of Justice lauds CBI for acting against technical-support fraud

WASHINGTON: India's premier investigative agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been appluaded by the US Department of Justice for taking simultaneous action against several companies for transmitting pop-ups to the victims' personal computers with warnings or bogus messages about serious technical problems including malware infections and defrauding US citizens.

On Thursday, in Washington, the USDOJ lauding the effort of CBI said, "In an unprecedented collaborative effort, the 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."

It said that through 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.

"The Dept of Justice sincerely appreciates the CBI's efforts to disrupt and prosecute technical-support fraud, govt imposter fraud, & all other schemes directed at the American public," it said. The CBI has registered a case in September this year on a complaint against six private companies on a complaint, alleged to be involved in technical support fraud scheme.

After registering the case, the CBI on Sept 17 carried out searches at 10 locations in Rajasthan's Jaipur, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Mainpuri, Gurugram and Faridabad at the premises of these companies. A CBI spokesperson in Delhi said that the agency has recovered digital evidences, various incriminating documents and also bank accounts, fixed deposits etc worth Rs 190 crore, cash of Rs 25 lakh, gold valued at Rs 55 lakh during searches conducted recently.

The CBI official said, according to USDOJ, Michael Brian Cotter, 59, of Glendale, California, knowingly provided US support for India-based accomplices in furtherance of the fraud. "The said person facilitated the scheme through several companies, including at Singapore. The temporary restraining order issued by the US court dismantles these defendants' US infrastructure, such as websites and payment processing relationships, and prohibits the defendants from continuing to facilitate the alleged scheme," he added. (IANS)

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