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Federal prosecutors in Connecticut have charged two Glastonbury men over an alleged bonus-abuse scheme that used stolen identities to drain about $3 million from FanDuel and other online gambling platforms.
A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 45-count indictment on Feb. 3, 2026, naming Amitoj Kapoor, 29, and Siddharth Lillaney, 29. The charges include fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.
Agents arrested both men on Feb. 5. They later appeared in federal court in New Haven before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia and were released on $300,000 bonds.
Prosecutors say the play was simple: steal identities, farm bonuses
The pair allegedly opened gambling accounts with stolen personal data from victims in Connecticut and beyond. Instead of betting like normal players, investigators say they churned “new user” offers—bonuses, credits, and bonus bets—again and again.
The indictment says the conduct began in 2021. It also alleges the use of roughly 3,000 identities across FanDuel and other platforms, producing about $3 million in profits.
Darknet data, Telegram deals, and background-check sites
To build the account pipeline, the indictment alleges Kapoor and Lillaney bought stolen personal data from darknet marketplaces and through the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
They also kept accounts on background-check services, including BeenVerified and TruthFinder, to pull more information about victims and answer identity-verification questions during sign-up, prosecutors said.
How the money allegedly moved
When a bonus bet hit, prosecutors say winnings were pushed onto virtual stored-value cards backed by an FDIC-insured financial institution. From there, the funds were moved into bank and investment accounts controlled by the defendants.
IRS Criminal Investigation leaders said that kind of movement is exactly what their agents are built to trace.
“Individuals who commit identity theft of this magnitude deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Thomas Demeo, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England. He added that the agency remains focused on untangling complex financial transactions and money-laundering schemes.
State regulator says it started as gaming, then grew fast
Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection said its investigation began as a gaming matter, then escalated quickly due to the scale of the alleged identity theft.
“Although this started as a gaming-related investigation, the scope of the alleged identity theft and fraud, with thousands of potential victims across the country, quickly became the primary focus of this investigation,” commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said.
The department urged anyone who believes they may be a victim to report it through IdentityTheft.gov.
The charges and potential penalties
The indictment includes:
- 23 counts of wire fraud, each carrying a potential maximum of 20 years in prison
- 10 counts of money laundering, also carrying potential maximums of 20 years each
- 2 counts of aggravated identity theft, which carry mandatory two-year prison terms to be served consecutively
- plus additional counts for identity fraud and conspiracies
Federal prosecutors also stressed that an indictment is not proof of guilt, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: Times of India
