News Summary

Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, a former DoorDash driver, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after orchestrating a scheme to defraud the company of over $2.5 million. Utilizing unauthorized access to DoorDash’s systems, he manipulated order statuses to trigger payments for non-existent deliveries. Devagiri faces up to 20 years in prison. This case highlights vulnerabilities in gig economy companies like DoorDash and emphasizes the need for improved security measures.

California – Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, a 30-year-old former DoorDash driver from Newport Beach, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal court located in San Jose. The plea was entered on Tuesday, marking a significant development in a case involving an elaborate scheme to defraud DoorDash of over $2.5 million.

During the timeframe of 2020 and 2021, while employed as a driver for DoorDash, Devagiri orchestrated the conspiracy that involved placing high-priced orders using the accounts of DoorDash customers. His actions have now led to one of the most notable fraud cases in the delivery industry.

Devagiri was indicted by a federal grand jury alongside three other individuals in August 2024, making him the third defendant convicted in this ongoing investigation. The fraudulent activities were not isolated; he manipulated DoorDash’s internal systems through unauthorized access. Specifically, he used an employee’s credentials to infiltrate DoorDash’s software, allowing him to manually reassign the fraudulent orders to driver accounts under his control.

In his scheme, Devagiri falsely marked these orders as completed in the DoorDash system, triggering payments for deliveries that never took place. Remarkably, after reporting non-existent deliveries, he was able to switch the order status back to “in process,” enabling him to repeat the fraud. Each fraudulent transaction could be executed in under five minutes, demonstrating the efficiency of his method, which was employed on a large scale throughout the operational period, often repeated for hundreds of orders.

In total, the fraudulent payments made to Devagiri from DoorDash exceeded a staggering $2.5 million, making this one of the largest fraudulent schemes targeting the delivery service. He was apprehended on October 4, 2024, along with his alleged co-conspirators, Manaswi Mandadapu and Tyler Thomas Bottenhorn. Mandadapu has since pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on May 6, 2025. Bottenhorn, who had a brief employment with DoorDash in 2020, has pleaded guilty to separate charges in November 2023.

As a consequence of his guilty plea, Devagiri is now facing a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, in addition to a $250,000 fine. Following his plea hearing, a status conference has been scheduled for September 16, 2025, to address his sentencing and provide updates on the case.

This case highlights the risks and vulnerabilities in the gig economy, particularly within companies like DoorDash that rely on a network of independent contractors. The series of events leading to this conviction serves as a warning to other gig workers about the legal ramifications of engaging in fraudulent activities.

Through the ongoing legal proceedings, it remains essential for DoorDash and similar companies to enhance their security measures to prevent employees and contractors from exploiting existing systems for personal gain. The outcome of this case may influence future policies and procedures aimed at minimizing fraud within the gig economy landscape.