BALTIMORE, MD—Three men have been indicted for an alleged $3.5 million scheme that targeted older adults, making them believe their computers were infected with viruses and demanding payment for repairs.

Amit Ahuja, 40, of Westminster, Maryland, is facing federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. The two other suspects, Kapil Gulati, 50, of Glen Burnie, Maryland, and Priyanshu Walia, 39, of Cleveland, Ohio, are also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.

The alleged scheme would convince victims to call a phone number or make an unsolicited phone call, and allege their computers had major issues that needed to be fixed immediately. The suspects would then claim to be computer companies or computer security companies, and demand payment for the repairs.

Federal prosecutors say the scheme targeted more than 1,000 victims, many of whom were older adults, sending a total of at least $3.5 million to the defendants and other conspirators.

The suspects could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

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