Lyndhurst man among 10 charged in $200M credit card scheme

A Lyndhurst man is among 10 people charged Friday in what federal authorities said is one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department.

Vinod Dadlani, 50, was part of a vast criminal enterprise, federal officials say, in which more than 7,000 identities were fabricated to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. Authorities estimate the losses from the scheme totaled more than $200 million.

The scam involved a three-step process, according to the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. First, the defendants would fabricate an identity by creating fraudulent ID documents and credit profiles. Then, they would inflate the credit by lying to the major credit bureaus. Lastly, they borrowed or spent as much as they could without repaying the debts – inflicting businesses and financial institutions with more than $200 million in losses.

The conspirators set up 1,800 drop addresses for the fake identities across the country – at houses, apartments and post office boxes, officials said.

All but one of the defendants had been among 18 people previously charged with bank fraud conspiracy in a February complaint as part of the case. Ten of those defendants were indicted Friday, with seven – including Dadlani – getting the additional charge of wire fraud.

The bank and wire fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Of the ten indicted, three are still at large, three are still in custody and four — including Dadlani — were released on bail. All are from New Jersey and New York. A call to Dadlani’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Email: patberg@northjersey.com