Working as a DoorDash supply driver isn’t an apparent path to wealth. However a Southern California man and his co-conspirators devised an elaborate ruse — involving a boatload of pretend orders and manipulation of the corporate’s software program — that netted them hundreds of thousands, prosecutors say.
A Newport Seashore man pleaded responsible on Tuesday to conspiring to steal greater than $2.5 million from the San Francisco-based meals supply firm, officers from the U.S. lawyer’s workplace introduced.
Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, 30, admitted he labored with a number of others in a scheme to trigger DoorDash to pay for deliveries that by no means occurred.
Devagiri faces a most statutory penalty of 20 years in jail and a effective of $250,000. He’s scheduled to look in court docket for a standing listening to Sept. 16.
Devagiri, who was a DoorDash driver, and three others labored collectively from November 2020 to February 2021 and conspired with a former worker of the corporate to achieve entry to its pc techniques, prosecutors say.
The crew created pretend buyer and driver accounts. First, they might cost high-dollar orders to buyer accounts, then — utilizing the credentials of the worker they have been working with — they might manually reassign orders to driver accounts that they managed.
The pretend driver accounts would report the standing of the fictional orders as delivered, inflicting a fee to undergo to these driver accounts.
They’d then additional manipulate DoorDash’s software program to toggle the standing of the pretend orders from “delivered” to “in progress.”
From there, they’d reassign the order to a different driver account they managed. This triggered a number of funds on a person, nonexistent order. Officers stated the method normally took lower than 5 minutes, and was repeated lots of of instances for lots of the orders.
Devagiri was indicted alongside Manaswi Mandadapu, 29, Matheus Duarte, 29, and Hari Vamsi Anne, 30. Mandadapu pleaded responsible to the identical cost as Devagiri on Might 6. Anne and Duarte beforehand pleaded not responsible and are subsequent set to look in court docket July 22.
The previous worker within the rip-off, Tyler Thomas Bottenhorn, pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023 and admitted to being concerned within the scheme.
It’s unclear how the defendants knew each other, or how they linked with Bottenhorn.
Occasions employees author Clara Harter contributed to this report.
