Orlando, Florida Man Convicted of Wire Fraud Conspiracy

Rutland, Vermont - The United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on Friday, November 1, 2024, Nasir Hussain, also known as "Sonu", 31, of Orlando, Florida was convicted in U.S. District Court in Rutland of wire fraud conspiracy after a four-day jury trial. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante ordered that Hussain remain in jail pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. Hussain has been held without bail since his arrest in July 2023.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Hussain recruited a number of people to open bank accounts using false information. Those bank accounts were used to funnel proceeds from defrauded victims who lived in Vermont, California, and elsewhere in the United States. Under the fraud scheme, the victim would receive calls, emails or both - purportedly from well-known retail establishments about charges to the victim's account. The victim was asked to call a certain number and eventually download software to enable the caller to view the screen of the victim's computer to "refund" the charge if the victim desired.

In reality, however, that software enabled the caller to access the victim's computer remotely - not just view the screen. The caller then pretended to cancel the requested service at the victim's request and provide the requested refund. The caller made it look like they had provided too large of a refund, often by moving around money from the victim's own accounts. When the victim went to return what they thought was the over-refund, they were actually giving away their own money. The callers told their victims to send their money to the bank accounts that Hussain and his conspirators had opened. From there, Hussain and his conspirators funneled the victims' funds to various individuals in India.

Based on the jury's verdict, Hussain faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. In a separate case still pending, Hussain faces charges of knowingly making false statements in connection with his application for permanent residence status. Hussain faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on that charge. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors.

"Fraud schemes like the one perpetrated by Hussain are complex and tend to prey on vulnerable victims," said United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest. "These fraud schemes are also far too common and require vigilance by community members and law enforcement alike. This case demonstrates that the U.S. Attorney's Office and our partners hold perpetrators of cybercrime accountable. Moving forward, we will continue to investigate and prosecute these fraud schemes and also provide education to the community on how to avoid becoming a victim."

"Mr. Hussain is a scam artist involved in a sophisticated criminal network that targeted innocent victims and robbed them of their hard-earned money," said Craig Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albany Field Office. "The FBI will continue to work with our partners at the United States Attorney's Office to identify and disrupt any individual or criminal organization looking to use technology to scam our citizens."

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest also commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance during trial.

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugenia P. Cowles and Colin Owyang represented the government. Kevin Henry, Esq. of Primmer, Piper, Eggleston & Cramer, PC represented Hussain.