California DoorDash Driver Admits to Participating in $2.5 Million Delivery Fraud Scheme

SAN FRANCISCO — A former food delivery driver admitted to conspiring with others to defraud DoorDash of more than $2.5 million by charging the company for non-existent deliveries, federal prosecutors announced.

Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri acknowledged guilt on Tuesday in a federal court in San Jose to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Devagiri, 30, from Newport Beach, California, confessed to collaborating with three others during 2020 and 2021 to deceive the San Francisco-based delivery company, as stated by federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Devagiri used customer accounts to place high-value orders and then used an employee’s credential to gain access to DoorDash software and manually reassign the orders to driver accounts that he and others controlled. Devagiri then caused the fraudulent driver accounts to report that the orders had been delivered when they had not, and manipulated DoorDash’s computer systems to pay the fraudulent driver accounts for the nonexistent deliveries, officials said.

Devagiri would then use DoorDash software to change the orders from “delivered” status to “in process” status and manually reassign the orders to driver accounts he and others controlled, beginning the process again, prosecutors said.

The now-former employee in the scam pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023 and admitted to being involved in the scheme, prosecutors said.

Devagiri is the third defendant to be convicted of his role in this conspiracy. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 16.