Michigan man sentenced for computer fraud and online drug distribution schemes

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Schemes involved co-conspirators in India, Europe and the United States

A Michigan man was sentenced June 18, 2024, for defrauding internet users through scam virus alerts and distributing controlled substances online, a Justice Department press release from the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.

Doyal Kalita, 37, of Redford, Mich., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Kalita was also ordered to pay $272,293 in restitution to victims in this case and forfeiture of $2,542,784.

In February 2024, Kalita pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to import Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances, and one count of money laundering conspiracy.

In 2015, Kalita and co-conspirators organized a scheme to defraud internet users through the use of deceptive pop-up screens that falsely told victims that their computers were infected with viruses (or were otherwise damaged) and directed the victims to call for technical support. In fact, the victims were connected to Kalita’s call centers in India and in Michigan and were scared or deceived into buying products and services that they did not need, the press release said.

At the same time, the Justice Department said, Kalita and his co-conspirators launched an online drug distribution scheme that sold prescription drugs, including opioids and other controlled substances, that were shipped from suppliers in India and Europe to individuals in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States.

They facilitated online sales from multiple foreign drug suppliers and received controlled substances from abroad before repackaging and distributing them throughout the United States.

To conceal the nature of the transactions, Kalita and his co-conspirators used PayPal and merchant accounts that purported to belong to non-existent consulting companies, health supplement stores, auto parts suppliers and travel agencies. In some instances, Kalita and his co-conspirators created fake travel itineraries and receipts to deceive credit card processors in the United States in order to keep the drug business from being detected.

In January 2023, Manish Kumar – a partner in a Mumbai-based prescription drug company and one of Kalita’s suppliers – was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 87 months in prison, three months of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $100,000.

In June 2023, Robert Polanco, one of Kalita’s co-conspirators in the money laundering scheme, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was later ordered to pay $216,900 in restitution to fraud victims.