Toronto: Canadian legislation enforcement on Wednesday arrested a 33-year-old Indo-Canadian as a part of an investigation into alleged technical help fraud that additionally concerned operations by authorities in India and the United States.

Jayant Bhatia, resident of Brampton within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), was arrested after Peel Regional Police executed a search warrant at his residence on Wednesday and “seized evidence in relation to a cyber-enabled fraud investigation spanning international borders across two continents,” a launch issued on Friday stated.

“Cybercrime is borderless and cyber criminals have become more sophisticated. A more collected and collaborative approach between our law enforcement partners is paramount,” Deputy Nick Milinovich of Peel Regional Police Investigative & Emergency Services, stated.

Investigators from Canada included these from Peel Regional Police’s Cyber Support Services and the Fraud Bureau, with the help the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).

A complete of six individuals have been arrested in reference to “a transnational technical support scam that targeted more than 20,000 victims,” in accordance with a launch from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

Gagan Lamba, 41, and Harshad Madaan, 34, of New Delhi together with Bhatia, and Vikash Gupta, 33, of Faridabad, have been all charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit pc fraud, and substantive violations of wire fraud and pc fraud.

Lamba, Madaan, Bhatia, and a fifth defendant, Kulwinder Singh, 34, of Richmond Hill, New York, have been additionally charged with conspiracy to commit cash laundering, cash laundering, and fascinating in financial transactions in property derived from specified illegal exercise.

Bhatia was charged with offences associated to his participation in a high-tech fraud scheme. A sixth defendant, Meghna Kumar, 50, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded responsible on Wednesday by videoconference earlier than a decide in reference to “engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.”

The defendants have been charged with collaborating in a “high-tech extortion scheme on a global scale.” US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger stated, “They frequently preyed upon senior citizens and scared them into paying for unnecessary and useless computer repair services.”

The alleged rip-off was ongoing for a decade. The “fraud ring”, the discharge stated, generated over $10 million in proceeds from its victims by tricking them “into believing that their personal computers were infected with a virus or malware and then convince the victims to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to the fraud ring for phony computer repair services.”