BOSTON – Anyone who has ever had a frightening pop-up warning appear on their computer knows how convincing those messages can seem.
Federal prosecutors say scammers used that fear to steal money from victims across the United States and abroad and two business executives have now admitted they helped keep those fraud schemes running.
Former CEO Adam Young, 42, of Miami, Florida, and former CSO Harrison Gevirtz, 33, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty in federal court to misprision of a felony after admitting they operated a business that provided telecommunications services to customers they knew were engaged in tech-support fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, Young and Gevirtz provided telephone numbers, call routing, call tracking, and call forwarding services to customers involved in fraudulent telemarketing operations.
The schemes relied on deceptive pop-up messages that falsely warned computer users their devices had been infected with viruses or malware. Victims were directed to call a phone number displayed in the pop-up, where call center operators persuaded them to pay hundreds of dollars for unnecessary or fake tech-support services.
In some cases, prosecutors said, call center agents remotely accessed victims’ computers and obtained personal and financial information.
Federal investigators said Young and Gevirtz knew as early as 2017 that some of their customers were engaged in tech-support fraud but failed to report the activity to law enforcement. Instead, court documents say they received complaints from phone providers and law enforcement, then advised some customers on ways to avoid victim complaints and prevent their accounts from being shut down.
The investigation began in 2020 and has already led to the convictions of five India-based telemarketing fraudsters and a former employee of the call routing company. Prosecutors said call centers in India used Young and Gevirtz’s business to route fraudulent calls.
Young and Gevirtz also owned and operated a call center in Tunisia from 2016 through April 2022, where some employees allegedly engaged in tech-support fraud.
Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, called the conduct “downright despicable,” saying the executives knowingly profited from scammers who preyed on elderly and vulnerable victims.
“Tech support scams cost Americans $2.1 billion last year, and Rhode Islanders reported losing at least $5.7 million,” Docks said.
Young and Gevirtz are scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2026. Their sentences will be determined by a federal judge after consideration of federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Milind Shah, Sandra Hebert, Julianne Klein, and Lee Vilker.
The matter was investigated by the FBI.
There should be a mandatory death penalty for computer fraud aimed at the elderly .
No fine . No community service . No parole . No probation . No jail .
Take them directly to the death chamber .
Put them down .
@ louisewoods, Defrauding the taxpayers should be the same.