Tech Live Connect, run by 64‑year‑old Michael Cotter, ran a four‑year fraud that masqueraded bogus tech‑support fees as legitimate purchases. By feeding real names and addresses into payment gateways through a web of processors, the outfit kept chargeback ratios low enough to open new merchant accounts. The scheme let the company harvest fresh victims while staying under the radar of processors continuously.

Maintaining the illusion cost more than it seemed. In March 2018 the crew needed 27,000 “good” transactions, so it spent $140,000 buying 3,000 virtual debit cards and routed them through six gateways. Processing fees and vendor charges ate roughly half the cash, yet the operation still generated $13 million in revenue and swindled an additional $8 million from American consumers.

Payment processors eventually flagged the activity, prompting a U.S. Postal Inspection Service probe that culminated in a 2020 injunction barring Cotter from selling any technical‑support services. After years of litigation, he pleaded guilty in January 2026 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison, ending a scheme that had drained millions from unwitting users.