Florida Man Sentenced to 28 Months for Role in Decade-Long Pop-Up Tech Support Scheme

The takeaway: people who handle domains, companies, and payment relationships for tech support schemes face federal prosecution even when the call centers are overseas.

Here is what happened

According to the DOJ:

1. On January 9, 2026, prosecutors filed an information charging Cotter with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in connection with a technical support fraud scheme.
2. On January 26, 2026, Cotter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
3. On April 9, 2026, he was sentenced to 28 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
4. On May 20, 2026, the court ordered him to pay $121,787.29 in restitution.

The case is before U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.

The alleged scheme

According to court documents described by the DOJ, from at least 2011 to 2020:

1. Cotter and co-conspirators contacted U.S. consumers through internet pop-up messages that falsely appeared to be security alerts from Microsoft or another well-known company.
2. The pop-ups claimed the computer was infected, purported to run a scan, falsely confirmed a virus and malware, and displayed a toll-free number.
3. When victims called, they reached India-based call centers participating in the scheme.
4. Call center workers asked for remote access, claimed to find viruses or malware, falsely diagnosed problems, and charged hundreds of dollars for unnecessary services and software.

The DOJ states that Cotter allegedly worked with co-conspirators in India to operate the scheme. His alleged role included registering website domains, setting up shell companies, and entering into relationships with banks and payment processors to collect money from victims. Individual victims paid hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Why it matters

This case illustrates how tech support schemes use infrastructure in the United States. The call centers were overseas, but the domains, companies, bank accounts, and payment processing relationships were built and maintained by someone. The DOJ's description shows Cotter in that role.

Prosecutors have repeatedly charged people who provide these services. Recent cases have involved lead brokers, call routing operators, and money processors. Payment processors have also faced Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement for facilitating tech support merchants.

What this means for you

1. Banks and payment processors should scrutinize merchants selling computer support, especially those with new entities and toll-free numbers tied to pop-up advertising.
2. Domain registrars and hosting providers should act on reports of pages impersonating technology companies.
3. Call routing and lead generation businesses should refuse pop-up generated tech support traffic.
4. Any business that provides remote access tools should monitor for misuse tied to unsolicited support calls.

Fraud at this scale requires ordinary business services. Each provider can decline to supply them.