Three Individuals Charged in Online Fraud Scheme

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a complaint was filed charging three individuals, Humayun Farid, 32, Aysha Hussain, 30, and Naheed Anjum, 54, currently of Henrietta, NY, with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. Mail fraud and wire fraud each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. All three charges carry a possible fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa J. Miller, who is handling the case, stated that the Complaint charges the defendants with devising a scheme to defraud Intuit, Inc., the manufacturer of TurboTax, a tax preparation software program. As part of the scheme, the defendants advertised the TurboTax software for sale on www.eBay.com, an online auction and shopping forum. The defendants then fraudulently requested free replacement copies of TurboTax from Intuit, Inc., which they provided to eBay purchasers. During the course of the scheme, the defendants fraudulently sold thousands of copies of TurboTax software.

The complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota; and inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge, Boston Division, Robert Bethel.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.