Two Charged In $3M, 3,000 Victim, Online Gambling Identity Fraud Case

India-West News Desk

NEW HAVEN, CT- Two men from Glastonbury have been charged in a large-scale fraud and identity theft scheme that used thousands of stolen identities to defraud FanDuel and other online gambling platforms of approximately $3 million.

A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 45-count indictment on February 3, charging Amitoj Kapoor, 29, and Siddharth Lillaney, 29, with wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering offenses.

The two were arrested the following day and released on $300,000 bonds after appearing before a federal magistrate judge.

Prosecutors say that since 2021, Kapoor and Lillaney used the personal identifying information of approximately 3,000 identity theft victims to open gambling accounts and exploit promotional bonuses offered to new users. The defendants allegedly obtained stolen information through darknet marketplaces and the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, and used additional background data to bypass identity verification checks.

According to court documents, winnings generated through bonus bets were transferred to virtual stored-value cards backed by FDIC-insured financial institutions, before being moved into bank and investment accounts controlled by the defendants.

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Thomas Demeo said the alleged scheme caused significant harm to identity theft victims.

Federal officials emphasized that the charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.