Federal judge sentences Kartik Saini to 6+ years for tech-support frau

Sentence and Conviction

Kartik Saini was sentenced to six years and one month in federal prison by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey in Chicago after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud, according to the Department of Justice. The foreign national had orchestrated a coordinated "tech support" fraud scheme that victimized senior citizens across the United States.

How the Scheme Worked

Saini and his co-schemers falsely represented to victims that their computers had been hacked and their bank accounts had been compromised, according to prosecutors cited in the DOJ statement. Once they convinced victims of the supposed breach, Saini or an accomplice would persuade them to transfer significant funds to various bank accounts under the guise that the company would safeguard the money during an investigation.

According to Chicago-area reporting, prosecutors documented at least three additional victims with losses ranging from $13,500 to more than $207,000, and said Saini attempted to defraud two others.

Arrest and Restitution

Saini was arrested in August 2024 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after arriving from India, according to prosecutors documented locally. Judge Blakey ordered restitution as part of the sentence; prosecutors had requested more than $1 million be distributed among victims.

Following his prison term, Saini is expected to be deported to India, prosecutors said.

Real-World Impact on Victims

Tech-support fraud targeting seniors remains a persistent threat in the United States. Perpetrators use fake pop-up warnings and social engineering to trick older adults into believing their devices are compromised, then extract thousands of dollars per victim. The scheme documented in Saini's case represents a coordinated, international operation that victimized multiple people, demonstrating the scale at which these fraud networks operate.