Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the linked source articles below and extracts what each outlet reported, so you can compare their coverage side by side. How this works →
Gujarati man sentenced to 9 years in jail in US for scam; attorney says he grew up in India in extreme poverty without water, studied only till 10th
Shreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary, a Gujarat-born man, was sentenced to 110 months in US federal prison for orchestrating a fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims across the country. His associates received probation and shorter sentences, with the court also ordering millions in restitution.
A Gujarat-born man has been sentenced to more than nine years in a US federal prison for his role in a financial fraud scheme that preyed on elderly victims. Shreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary was sentenced by US District Judge J Philip Calabrese in Cleveland to 110 months—nine years and two months—in prison, and was ordered to pay $5.16 million in restitution.
His associate, Trusha Chaudhary, received five years of probation and was ordered to pay $343,641 in restitution. Another member of the operation, Nitinkumar Raval, was sentenced last December to between 19 and 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $224,902.
The fraud operation ran from December 2022 through December 2023 and involved tricking victims into believing their computers or identities had been compromised.
In October 2023, an elderly man from Salem, Massachusetts, clicked on a pop-up advertisement that falsely claimed his computer had a security problem. He called the phone number displayed in the message and was connected to individuals who told him he had become a victim of identity theft. According to one account, he spoke with someone named Howard, who put him in touch with Stacy Brown, and Brown instructed him to send $11,000 worth of gift cards.
The victim was later persuaded to withdraw around $61,000, and then another $50,000 from his bank. It was at this point that the bank suspected something was wrong and alerted the FBI.
Investigators arrested Raval when he arrived to collect money from a victim. During the investigation, authorities learned that he had been instructed by a man using the alias “Al Capone.” Raval subsequently led investigators to Chaudhary, who was identified as the person behind the alias.
According to prosecutors, Chaudhary directed couriers who travelled to different locations across the United States to collect cash and other valuables from victims.
In a defence filing, Chaudhary’s attorney argued for a lighter sentence, citing his client’s difficult upbringing. The filing said Chaudhary was born and raised in Ampura, a rural area of Gujarat, and grew up in extreme poverty. His family faced water shortages, lived in a poorly maintained home, and Chaudhary slept on a mattress on the floor. He had only a 10th-grade education and spoke very little English. His first job came at age 22, earning about $10.49 per month.
The defence acknowledged that Chaudhary did not dispute the illegal nature of his conduct, but argued that his upbringing and economic circumstances should be considered by the court.
How each outlet told it
Times Now
Framing: Headline asks 'Who is Shreyas...' and leads with sentence and fraud scheme, omitting the poverty angle in the headline though mentioned in subhead. — Neutral/informative, quoting defense filing without judgment; tone word: 'measured' — e.g., 'lawyer citing his childhood'
Facts Included:
Shreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary sentenced to 110 months (9 years, 2 months) by US District Judge J Philip Calabrese in Cleveland
Ordered to pay $5.16 million in restitution
Associate Trusha Chaudhary sentenced to 5 years probation and $343,641 restitution
Nitinkumar Raval sentenced last December to 19-41 months and $224,902 restitution
Fraud operation ran December 2022 through December 2023
Elderly victim in Salem, Massachusetts, clicked on pop-up in October 2023, called number, told identity theft
Instructed to buy $11,000 gift cards, withdraw ~$61,000, then $50,000
Raval arrested when collecting money; learned he was instructed by alias 'Al Capone'
Chaudhary directed couriers across US to collect cash/valuables
Defense filing: born/raised in Ampura, Gujarat; extreme poverty; water shortages; poorly maintained home; slept on mattress on floor
10th-grade education, little English, first job at 22 earning $10.49/month
Defense acknowledged illegality but argued upbringing/circumstances
Framing: Headline emphasizes sentence and poverty, quoting attorney's claim; omits details like amount of restitution or courier role in headline. — Neutral/informative, tone is 'measured' with factual presentation but includes descriptive language like 'massive scam'.
Facts Included:
Shreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary sentenced to 110 months (9 years 2 months) by US district court in Cleveland, Judge J Philip Calabrese
Restitution $5,164,031 for Shreyas; Trusha Chaudhary 5 years probation, $343,641; Nitinkumar Raval 19-41 months last connection, $224,902
October 2023 victim Salem, Massachusetts; pop-up ad, frozen computer, message to contact Microsoft security; spoke to 'Howard', then 'Stacy Brown'
Victim instructed: $11,000 gift cards; withdraw ~$61,000; then $50,000; bank suspected and alerted FBI
FBI arrested Raval when picking up money; learned 'Al Capone' instructed him
Raval led to 'Al Capone' as Shreyas; he directed couriers to US locations; scam Dec 2022-Dec 2023
Defense filing quotes: born/raised in Ampura, extreme poverty, deprivations, mattress, 10th grade, little English, first job at 22, $10.49/month, did not dispute illegality but begged for leniency
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimShreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary was sentenced to 110 months (9 years and 2 months) in prison by US District Judge J Philip Calabrese in Cleveland.
ClaimThe fraud operation ran from December 2022 through December 2023 and involved tricking victims into believing their computers or identities had been compromised.
ClaimIn October 2023, an elderly man from Salem, Massachusetts, clicked on a pop-up advertisement that falsely claimed his computer had a security problem, froze his computer, and directed him to contact a Microsoft security phone number.
ClaimThe victim called the number and was told by individuals (in TOI's account, someone named Howard who put him in touch with Stacy Brown) that he was a victim of identity theft.
ClaimShreyas Baldevbhai Chaudhary directed couriers who travelled to different locations across the United States to collect cash and other valuables from victims.
ClaimAccording to the defense filing, Chaudhary's family faced water shortages, lived in a poorly maintained home, and Chaudhary slept on a mattress on the floor.
ClaimThe defense acknowledged that Chaudhary did not dispute the illegal nature of his conduct but argued that his upbringing and economic circumstances should be considered by the court.