The individual defendants were Jessica Marie Serrano, Dishant Khanna, Mohit Malik, Romil Bhatia, Lalit Chadha, and Roopkala Chadha.
The defendants allegedly contacted consumers through advertisements that look like pop-up security alerts from tech companies. The ads appear while consumers were browsing the internet.
The defendants allegedly falsely warned consumers that their computers were infected with viruses or had been hacked. They encouraged consumers to immediately call a toll-free number for technical assistance. When consumers contacted the number, telemarketers who claimed to be affiliated with Apple or Microsoft would request access to their consumers.
The telemarketers claimed to perform a series of diagnostic tests to show that the consumers’ computers had major problems and require a major repair. The telemarketers then encouraged consumers to buy one-time fix or long-term service plans that cost hundreds of dollars.
In December, the defendants agreed to settle the allegations of the FTC, which obtained monetary judgment against them.
