Vinoth Ponmaran, 35, a citizen of India, pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy that targeted over 6,500 victims, many of whom were elderly, across the United States and Canada. The scheme involved deceiving victims into paying for phony computer repair services, generating over $6 million in criminal proceeds.
Ponmaran admitted to orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme that exploited victims by remotely accessing their computers and convincing them to pay for unnecessary services. The conspiracy, which operated from approximately March 2015 to July 2018, caused pop-up windows to falsely claim computer infections, leading victims to call a designated telephone number for technical support. In reality, no virus existed, and the technical support numbers were not associated with legitimate companies.
As part of the scheme, Ponmaran managed a call center in India and recruited co-conspirators in the United States to facilitate fraudulent corporate entities and bank accounts. He also laundered fraud proceeds by directing transfers to accounts in both India and the United States.
Ponmaran faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to intentionally damage a protected computer. He has agreed to forfeit over $6 million and pay restitution of nearly $1.9 million. Ponmaran’s sentencing is scheduled for June 24, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.