An indictment has been made public, revealing charges against eight individuals involved in an international scheme to illicitly obtain $10 million through fraudulent market survey data, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack.
The accused, indicted for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, include Frank Hayden from Evanston, Illinois; Daniel Harriman from Huntsville, Alabama; Frank Nappo from Rye, New Hampshire; Ryan Stoudt from Dallas, Texas; Katarina Grubljesic from Belgrade, Serbia; Strahinja Grubljesic from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Archie Ignacio from Verona, New Jersey; and Arvind Iyer from Delhi, India, also known as S. Aravindan.
The indictment reveals that Op4G and Slice, U.S.-based market research firms, were hired by clients for survey work. Hayden, Harriman, and Nappo, as senior leaders at Op4G, hatched a scheme to increase revenue by creating false survey data. This involved recruiting individuals known as “ants” to pose as survey participants, though they were knowingly submitting fraudulent data for a fee. Many defendants also acted as "ants" themselves.
By 2018, the fraudulent operation was transitioned to Slice. By 2019, the conspiracy expanded to involve Iyer and his company, SNWare. Katarina Grubljesic, after leaving Op4G in 2021, continued collaborating through her company, Bright Analytic Consulting. The conspirators used various methods to cover their tracks, including directions on answering survey questions, timing instructions for survey completion, and employing VPNs to hide IP addresses.
Pending federal court appearances are expected for Hayden, Harriman, Nappo, Stoudt, and Ignacio.
If convicted, the defendants face sentences of up to 20 years in prison, three years supervised release, and fines up to $250,000 or twice the financial gains or losses, guided by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
This FBI-led investigation is being managed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen. Companies that procured data from the implicated firms between 2014 and 2024 should contact the U.S. Attorney’s office with any related concerns.
It's important to note that an indictment contains allegations, with all defendants presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.