California Resident Pleads Guilty to DoorDash Fraud Scheme

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An illustration symbolizing the vulnerabilities in digital food delivery platforms.

News Summary

Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, part of a scheme that defrauded DoorDash of over $2.5 million. Alongside three co-conspirators, Devagiri manipulated DoorDash’s system to place fraudulent orders using stolen credentials from a former employee. The activities took place over several months, reflecting significant vulnerabilities in the food delivery platform’s security measures. Facing a potential 20-year prison sentence, the case highlights the growing concerns of fraud in the gig economy.

California – Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, a 30-year-old resident of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme that defrauded DoorDash of more than $2.5 million. The guilty plea was entered on May 13, 2025, at a courthouse in San Jose, California.

Devagiri was part of a larger group that orchestrated fraudulent activities on the DoorDash platform between November 2020 and February 2021. This group, which included three other individuals and a former DoorDash employee, devised a plan to manipulate the food delivery service to their advantage. They placed high-value orders through fraudulent customer accounts created on the DoorDash app.

The scheme involved gaining unauthorized access to DoorDash’s systems using credentials provided by the former employee. With this access, they were able to manually reassign orders. Additionally, fraudulent driver accounts falsely reported that the orders had been delivered, despite them not being delivered at all. This deceptive practice included altering the status of these orders in DoorDash’s system from “delivered” to “in process,” thereby triggering repeated payments for the same order.

The entire manipulation process reportedly took less than five minutes to execute, and the group repeated this fraudulent activity hundreds of times, generating significant unlawful financial gains. Evidence presented in court indicates that the fraudulent activities were concentrated in Northern California, including areas within Santa Clara County.

Devagiri was indicted alongside three co-conspirators: Manaswi Mandadapu, 29; Matheus Duarte, 29; and Hari Vamsi Anne, 30, in August 2024. The group was arrested on October 4, 2024, and all individuals faced similar charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Details emerging from the investigation revealed extensive fraudulent payments that were made to accounts controlled by the conspirators.

As part of the judicial process, co-defendant Mandaswi Mandadapu also pleaded guilty to the same charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 6, 2025. Furthermore, Tyler Thomas Bottenhorn, the DoorDash employee who facilitated the scheme by providing access to the system, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023. The collaboration between former DoorDash employees and the conspirators significantly exacerbated the fraud committed against the food delivery company.

Devagiri now faces a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years and could also be subject to a fine of $250,000. A status hearing to discuss the next steps in Devagiri’s case is scheduled for September 16, 2025, as proceedings continue against other individuals involved in this complex fraud scheme.

This case highlights ongoing concerns regarding fraud in the rapidly growing food delivery sector, as companies like DoorDash enhance their cybersecurity measures to prevent similar incidents. It also underscores the importance of strong oversight and accountability within emerging gig economy platforms to ensure the integrity of their services and the trust of their users.