Two Defendants Arrested In $10 Million Tech Support Fraud Scheme

Technical Support Scheme Deceived More Than 7,500 Victims Across the United States and Canada, Many of Whom Are Elderly, into Paying for Phony Computer Repair Services


Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced charges against ROMANA LEYVA and ARIFUL HAQUE for participating in a conspiracy that for several years exploited elderly victims by remotely accessing their computers and convincing victims to pay for computer support services they did not need, and which were never actually provided. In total, the conspiracy generated more than $10 million in proceeds from at least approximately 7,500 victims. LEYVA was arrested today in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be presented, in the District of Nevada, before Magistrate Judge Cam Ferenbach. HAQUE was arrested this morning in Bellerose, New York, and will be presented today before Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang in the Southern District of New York. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants participated in a sophisticated fraud scheme that preyed on the elderly. The conspirators allegedly caused pop-up windows to appear on victims’ computers – pop-up windows that claimed, falsely, that a virus had infected the victim’s computer. Through this and other misrepresentations, this fraud scheme deceived thousands of victims, including some of society’s most vulnerable members, into paying a total of more than $10 million.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh said: “In a fraud scheme that targeted thousands of elderly victims who were swindled out of millions, the conspirators allegedly posed as tech support to fix computers supposedly infected by malware. It is our duty as citizens to protect our growing elderly population and it is our duty as law enforcement to investigate and arrest those, like Leyva and Haque, who seek to make a profit through fraud and deception.”

According to the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court:[1]

From March 2015 through December 2018, LEYVA and HAQUE were members of a criminal fraud ring (the “Fraud Ring”) based in the United States and India that committed a technical support fraud scheme targeting elderly victims located across the United States and Canada, including in the Southern District of New York. The Fraud Ring’s primary objective was to trick victims into believing that their computers were infected with malware, in order to deceive them into paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for phony computer repair services. Over the course of the conspiracy, the Fraud Ring generated more than $10 million in proceeds from at least 7,500 victims.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/two-defendants-arrested-10-million-tech-support-fraud-scheme