Over a dozen persons have been accused by the Justice Department with operating a ride-hailing and delivery app scam.
Prosecutors believe that the suspected scam ring established false accounts using stolen personal information, then sold them to otherwise unqualified drivers — all while collecting referral incentives and developing software to fool the applications.
The indictment was unsealed on Friday, and it adds to the wire fraud allegations that were initially made public in May.
It charges 14 persons with identity theft against five undisclosed companies, all of whom are Brazilian nationals who live in Massachusetts.
(A total of 19 persons have been charged with wire fraud, and 16 have been arrested.)
The allegations of wire fraud carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, while the charges of aggravated identity theft include a minimum sentence of two years.
Bots, GPS spoofing, social security numbers purchased on dark websites, and driver’s licenses taken from unwary app users are all detailed in court records.
While the apps in question aren’t named, the contents of the complaint match issues reported by Instacart and Amazon Flex, among others.
Members of the organization allegedly convinced consumers (falsely) that they needed to scan their driver’s licenses when delivering alcohol from January to April of 2021.
According to prosecutors, defendants changed the photographs on the licenses, combined them with other personal information, and created accounts to sell or rent to drivers.
The bogus accounts allegedly allowed the group collect referral payments of up to $1,000 per account – one communication reveals a delivery firm paid $194,800 for 487 fake accounts after receiving referrals.
The plot allegedly became more widespread when the organization purchased software that it could rent to drivers, allowing them to automatically snag orders using bots or spoof locations to make trips appear longer.
The organization allegedly advertised their bogus accounts to Brazilian nationals working in Massachusetts, according to an affidavit.
Although it does not specify who purchased the accounts, many ride-hailing and delivery drivers are undocumented immigrants who may have difficulty meeting application requirements.
People have been able to get around opaque and exploitative features like DoorDash hiding tips from workers using software tools.
However, these technologies (usually) do not include identity theft protection, and bots and hackers are a well-known problem for both employees and customers.