Federal prosecutors stated that a former food delivery driver admitted guilt to charges of conspiring to defraud DoorDash of over $2.5 million by orchestrating a scheme that involved claiming payment for fictitious deliveries.

Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri entered a guilty plea in federal court in San Jose on Tuesday to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Devagiri, 30, residing in Newport Beach, California, has confessed to conspiring with three accomplices between 2020 and 2021 to defraud the San Francisco-based delivery firm, according to statements from federal prosecutors.

According to prosecutors, Devagiri exploited customer accounts to initiate substantial orders, subsequently utilising an employee's credentials to infiltrate DoorDash's software. He then manipulated the system to reassign these orders to driver accounts under his and his accomplices' control. Officials stated that Devagiri then fraudulently reported these orders as delivered, despite them not being so, and further manipulated DoorDash's computer systems to disburse payments to these fraudulent accounts for the fictitious deliveries.

Devagiri allegedly manipulated the DoorDash system by altering completed deliveries back to "in process," then rerouted these orders to driver accounts under his and his associates' control, restarting the delivery cycle, according to prosecutors.

The disgraced former employee implicated in the fraud case entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023, prosecutors stated, further acknowledging their participation in the illicit scheme.

Devagiri, the third defendant found guilty for his participation in the conspiracy, potentially faces a 20-year prison term and a $250,000 fine; his return to court is scheduled for September 16th.