An Indian man has pled guilty to defrauding US-based insurance and telecom companies.

June 6 :
A citizen of India has confessed to his role in a scheme that stole millions of dollars from several insurance and telephone firms. The perpetrator, Sandeep Bengera, 36, resold cellular devices purchased outside of the US after filing false claims using stolen or phoney identities.

A two-count indictment was presented to Bengera, a resident of Newark, on June 5 in federal court in Newark before US District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo. One allegation of conspiracy to commit interstate transfer of stolen goods and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud were included in the accusations, according to a release from the US Department of Justice.

Legal filings reveal that Bengera was a part of a complex operation to defraud insurance companies and cellular phone companies via the United States Postal Service and other third-party postal carriers from 2013 to 2019. With the help of his accomplices, Bengera would file false claims claiming that cellular phones and other gadgets were lost, stolen, or damaged in order to get new phones.

Bengera and his accomplices set up a system of mailboxes and storage facilities all throughout the US, including in New Jersey, to receive and keep the replacement devices before selling them to third parties located outside of the US. This was all part of their grand strategy. Bengera admitted that the replacement gadgets were worth more than $9 million when added together.

Twenty years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000 (or twice the gain or loss) are the maximum penalties for the crime of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In a similar vein, the maximum punishment for the crime of conspiring to transfer stolen items across state lines is two times the gain or loss from the offence, or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in fines. On October 10th, he is due to be sentenced.