Scranton Reporter

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Kuldeep Jaggi, age 39, of Huntington Station, New York, was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that Jaggi was a member of a conspiracy that operated a fraud scheme targeting victims throughout the United States, including Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The scheme involved causing pop-up windows to appear on victims’ personal computers. These pop-up windows falsely stated the victims’ computers had been infected with a virus and instructed them to call a provided telephone number for technical assistance.

It is further alleged that victims who called the number spoke with a member of the conspiracy who falsely represented himself as a government agent or employee. During these calls, it was falsely conveyed to the victims that their compromised computers had been used in criminal activities for which they would be charged unless they paid a fee in cash or gold to remove the virus. Victims were then instructed to hand-deliver these payments to an “agent” sent to their homes.

The indictment alleges that Jaggi acted as one of these “agents,” traveling to collect cash or gold from victims' homes. On October 3, 2023, Jaggi allegedly traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he collected approximately $64,000 in gold from one victim. Between September 26 and October 3, 2023, Jaggi also traveled to Massachusetts, Idaho, and Texas where he collected around $129,000 from three additional victims.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Swatara Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph J. Terz is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is 20 years imprisonment along with supervised release after imprisonment and fines. Sentences are imposed by judges following consideration of applicable federal sentencing statutes and Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments are only allegations; all persons charged are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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