Two Men Charged in $3M FanDuel Identity Theft Scam

Two Connecticut men are facing federal charges after allegedly stealing the identities of roughly 3,000 people to defraud FanDuel and other online gambling platforms out of $3 million.

Amitoj Kapoor and Siddharth Lillaney, both 29 years old from Glastonbury, Connecticut, were arrested following a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in New Haven.

Each was released on a $300,000 bond after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia.

How the FanDuel Scheme Worked

According to the indictment, Kapoor and Lillaney purchased stolen personal information from darknet markets and the Telegram messaging platform between April 2021 and 2026. They used this data to create thousands of fake accounts on gambling sites including FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM.

The pair also maintained subscriptions to background-check services like TruthFinder and BeenVerified. These tools helped them answer verification questions when opening new accounts. Kapoor even created a spreadsheet containing victims’ names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive details.

Their goal was simple: exploit promotional bonuses offered to new users. When bets placed with bonus credits won, they transferred winnings to virtual stored-value cards. From there, the money flowed into bank and investment accounts under their control.

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Charges and Penalties

The 45-count indictment includes conspiracy to commit wire and identity fraud, 23 counts of wire fraud carrying up to 20 years each, eight counts of identity fraud with up to 15 years each, two counts of aggravated identity theft with a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence, and money laundering charges that also carry up to 20 years per count.

U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan stated the following:

“As alleged, these two men used thousands of stolen identities to open online gambling accounts and exploit new user incentives, which for several years allowed them to gamble with stolen money. Their winning streak is now over.”

IRS Special Agent in Charge Thomas Demeo also added the following remarks:

“Individuals who commit identity theft of this magnitude deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. It’s alleged those charged caused immeasurable hardship to the victims of their identity theft scheme. IRS Criminal Investigation remains committed to unraveling complex financial transactions and money laundering schemes where criminals attempt to conceal the true source of their money.”

Final Thoughts

This case serves as a stark reminder that your personal information is a valuable target for criminals. Online gambling platforms continue to grow, and scammers are finding creative ways to exploit sign-up promotions at the expense of everyday people.

If you use services like FanDuel or DraftKings, monitor your accounts closely and consider identity theft protection to stay one step ahead of schemes like this one.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim of identity theft can visit IdentityTheft.gov to report fraud and take steps toward recovery.

For more details on this story, refer to the official indictment (PDF), the U.S. District Attorney’s Office press release, and the report from BleepingComputer.

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