A courtroom represents the legal proceedings of the DoorDash fraud case
Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, a former DoorDash driver from Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aiming to steal over $2.5 million from the company. Operating between 2020 and 2021, he exploited DoorDash’s software to manipulate orders and claim payments for non-existent deliveries. This case escalates concerns over fraud prevention in the growing food delivery sector. Devagiri faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and will appear in court again on September 16, 2025.
Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, a 30-year-old former DoorDash driver from Newport Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal court in San Jose on Tuesday. His plea relates to a fraudulent scheme where he attempted to steal over $2.5 million from the popular food delivery service between 2020 and 2021.
The scam operated while Devagiri was employed by DoorDash, which is headquartered in San Francisco. He was indicted by a federal grand jury along with three others in August 2024. His recent conviction marks him as the third defendant in this elaborate fraud case.
The fraudulent scheme involved placing high-priced orders using credentials obtained from DoorDash employees. Devagiri exploited the company’s software to access customer accounts and manually reassigned orders to driver accounts that he controlled. By marking these orders as completed in Doordash’s system, he initiated payments for deliveries that never took place.
In a particularly deceptive maneuver, once Devagiri reported nonexistent deliveries, he quickly reversed the order status back to “in process” to manipulate the system and execute the scheme again. This tactic allowed him to repeat the fraudulent process for multiple orders, achieving the significant fraud within a few minutes for each transaction.
According to statements from investigators, the cumulative effect of the fraudulent orders led to payments exceeding $2.5 million being disbursed unlawfully from DoorDash.
Devagiri’s accomplices, Manaswi Mandadapu and Tyler Thomas Bottenhorn, were also indicted alongside him. On May 6, 2025, Mandadapu entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bottenhorn, who had briefly worked for DoorDash in 2020, pleaded guilty to a separate charge in November 2023.
The collective efforts of these individuals in executing the scheme heightened scrutiny on fraud prevention measures within Delivery Service Companies, particularly amid the surge in demand for meal delivery services during the pandemic.
With the guilty plea, Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a potential fine of $250,000. The legal proceedings will continue with his next court status hearing scheduled for September 16, 2025.
The fraudulent activities were characterized by a systematic approach that exploited vulnerabilities in the DoorDash delivery system. The scheme emerged during a time when many companies in the gig economy were experiencing rapid growth and increased user engagement due to shifts in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This case highlights the ongoing challenges faced by digital platforms to safeguard their operations against fraudulent activities, especially as technology advances and methods for scam execution become more sophisticated. Federal authorities continue to take a strong stance against fraud in all its forms, particularly in the fast-growing sector of online food delivery.
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