Michigan Man Who Orchestrated International Computer Fraud and Online Drug Distribution Schemes Sentenced to Decade in Prison

BOSTON – A Michigan man was sentenced today for defrauding internet users through scam virus alerts and distributing controlled substances online. 

Doyal Kalita, 37, of Redford, Mich., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release. Kalita was also ordered to pay $272,293 in restitution to victims in this case and forfeiture of $2,542,784. In February 2024, Kalita pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of conspiracy to import Schedule II and Schedule IV controlled substances, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. 

In 2015, Kalita and co-conspirators organized a scheme to defraud internet users through the use of deceptive pop-up screens that falsely told victims that their computers were infected with viruses (or were otherwise damaged) and directed the victims to call for technical support. In fact, the victims were connected to Kalita’s call centers in India and in Michigan and were scared or deceived into buying products and services that they did not need. 

Contemporaneously, Kalita and his co-conspirators launched an online drug distribution scheme that sold prescription drugs, including opioids and other controlled substances, that were shipped from suppliers in India and Europe to individuals in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States. Kalita and his co-conspirators facilitated online sales from multiple foreign drug suppliers and received controlled substances from abroad before repackaging and distributing them throughout the United States. To conceal the nature of the transactions, Kalita and his co-conspirators used PayPal and merchant accounts that purported to belong to non-existent consulting companies, health supplement stores, auto parts suppliers and travel agencies. In some instances, Kalita and his co-conspirators created fake travel itineraries and receipts to deceive credit card processors in the United States in order to keep the drug business from being detected. 

Two of Kalita’s alleged co-conspirators remain fugitives. 

In January 2023, Manish Kumar – a partner in a Mumbai-based prescription drug company and one of Kalita’s suppliers – was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 87 months in prison, three months of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $100,000.

In June 2023, Robert Polanco, one of Kalita’s co-conspirators in the money laundering scheme, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was later ordered to pay $216,900 in restitution to fraud victims.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and the United States Food & Drug Administration made the announcement today. Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs & Border Protection; United States Marshals Service in Boston; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.