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A McLean man was sentenced Thursday to one year and nine months in federal prison for using credit card disputes to carry out a luxury watch fraud exceeding $1.2 million.

Federal prosecutors said Jaivin Raj Karnani, 45, bought high-end watches from London department store Harrods Limited with multiple American Express accounts, including two cards in his mother’s name.

After the watches arrived at his McLean home, Karnani falsely claimed he had never received them. Those reports triggered disputes intended to erase the charges, according to court documents.

Karnani placed orders under his own name and aliases including “Quinn Bash” and “Steve Johnson.” Prosecutors said he then attempted to resell the watches to luxury dealers in Michigan and New York.

Between late 2022 and mid-2024, the purchases totaled approximately $1,280,648 and included watches from Rolex, Gucci, Omega, Chanel, Tudor and Porsche Design.

The resulting chargebacks caused American Express to lose more than $850,000 and Harrods to lose more than $426,000, federal authorities said. The scheme also involved disputed charges for legal fees, which later led to civil judgments against Karnani.

Lindsey Halligan, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said abuse of consumer-protection systems can raise costs, undermine trust and impose financial burdens on legitimate businesses.

Along with the prison term, Karnani was ordered to forfeit $1,280,647.99, representing the full value of the fraudulent purchases. He must also surrender 23 luxury watches seized from his McLean residence.