California man admits to scamming DoorDash out of $2.5 million using fake deliveries

A former delivery driver has pleaded guilty to conspiring with several others to steal over $2.5 million from DoorDash, a San Francisco-based food delivery company, federal prosecutors said.
Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, 30, of Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty on May 13 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Prosecutors said Devagiri admitted to working with three others and a former employee of DoorDash in a fraud scheme that targeted the company between 2020 and 2021.
In the scheme, the group caused DoorDash to pay for deliveries that never occurred, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said the scheme resulted in more than $2.5 million in fraudulent payments.
Devagiri was arrested and indicted alongside Manaswi Mandadapu, 29; Matheus Duarte, 29; and Hari Vamsi Anne, 30, in October 2024, according to prosecutors. All four were charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Mandadapu pleaded guilty to the charge on May 6, prosecutors said. Duarte and Anne previously pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to appear in court on July 22, The Los Angeles Times reported.
The former DoorDash employee involved in the scheme, Tyler Thomas Bottenhorn, was charged in a separate indictment in September 2022 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023, according to prosecutors.
Devagiri is expected to appear in court for a status hearing on September 16, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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DoorDash provides food delivery services to customers who place orders on the platform. Drivers who work for the company fulfill those orders by picking up ordered items from restaurants and other merchants and delivering them to customers.
According to an indictment unsealed in October 2024, the group worked together between November 2020 to February 2021. During that period, Devagiri, along with Mandadapu, Duarte, and Anne, created multiple fraudulent customer and driver accounts with DoorDash, the indictment states.
The group used the fraudulent customer accounts to place "high value" orders from restaurants across Northern California, including Santa Clara County, according to the indictment. They then utilized an employee's credentials to access DoorDash's computer systems and software.
The indictment further alleged that the group used the computer systems to manually reassign DoorDash orders placed by their fraudulent customer accounts to their driver accounts. Prosecutors said Devagiri then would report the orders had been delivered on the driver accounts when they had not and manipulated the software to prompt DoorDash to pay the driver accounts for the deliveries that never occurred.
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Devagiri also used the DoorDash software to change the orders from 'complete' statuses to 'in process' statuses and reassigned the orders to driver accounts that the group controlled, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Devagiri repeated this process, which took less than five minutes, hundreds of times for many orders.
In total, the group stole over $2.5 million and received payments through bank accounts controlled by Devagiri Mandadapu, Duarte, and Anne, the indictment states.
According to the indictment, the group gained access to the software by using credentials that belonged to Bottenhorn, who was a resident of Solano County, California. He briefly worked for DoorDash in 2020. After pleading guilty in 2023, prosecutors said Bottenhorn admitted to being involved in the scheme to defraud the company.
Devagiri Mandadapu, Duarte, and Anne were all arrested on Oct. 4, 2024, prosecutors said. Devagiri and Mandadapu were taken into custody in Newport Beach and later released on bond. Duarte was arrested in Mountain House, California, and was also released on bond.
Anne was arrested in Cypress, Texas, and was detained in Houston pending further proceedings, according to prosecutors.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California man pleads guilty to stealing more than $2.5M from DoorDash

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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is one of the most underappreciated airline loyalty programs, especially for transatlantic flights in economy class. While major US carriers may charge 30,000 to 40,000 miles (or more) for a one-way flight between Europe and the US, Virgin Atlantic regularly prices economy award tickets from 6,000 points. I found availability from London to San Francisco for just 9,000 points plus £220 (around $300) in June, and it ended up being one of the best redemptions I've made all year. Credit card issuers like American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou American Express often run limited-time transfer bonuses to their travel partners. In October 2024, there was a 30% bonus from Amex to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. That meant every 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points transferred would become 1,300 Flying Club points. I transferred 37,000 Amex points for various Virgin redemptions I had in mind, and those became 48,100 Flying Club points, thanks to the transfer bonus. In short, instead of needing to transfer the full 9,000 points, the transfer bonus would've only required me to transfer 7,000 Amex points, which would've yielded 9,100 Flying Club points after the 30% bonus. That was just enough to cover my flight. To put that in perspective, I got a 10-hour transatlantic flight for the equivalent of 7,000 Amex points, plus taxes and fees, which is a fantastic redemption, especially during peak travel season. I found that London to San Francisco flight by searching directly on Virgin Atlantic's website. That £220 (around $300) in taxes and fees is relatively high, as are all Virgin's fees on UK departures due to airport and fuel surcharges, but even with the cash spend factored in, this was an exceptional value. The process was simple: I located award availability on my preferred date. 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