A Chappaqua man who pleaded guilty in November to a massive swindle of more than $21 million from a Katonah pianist and oil company fortune heir, has been sentenced to an "indeterminate term" to three to nine years in state prison, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's office.
Vickram Bedi, 38, pleaded guilty in November to one count of first-degree grand larceny, a Class B felony. He also pleaded guilty to another count of the same offense, the DA's office said, but awaits sentencing for it on March 26.
Bedi is accused of swindling from Roger Davidson, a great grand-nephew and great-grandson of the founding brothers of Schlumberger Ltd., a large oil services company. The timeline in question ran from August 2004 through August of 2010, the DA's office said. Davidson initially came into's Bedi's business, Mount Kisco computer services company Datalink , to report a computer virus and was concerned about salvaging music, documents and photos he stored on it. Bedi, the DA's office says, then told Davidson that his computer not only had a virus, but that it also damages computers at the store.
Bedi is then accused of deceiving Davidso by saying that he was in personal danger, and got him to pay for computer and security services. He then told Davidson, the DA's office said, that his uncle was an officer in India's military and tracked down the source of the virus in Honduras and retrieved a hard drive on a reconnaissance mission. The DA's office also said that Bedi told Davidson he was in danger from Polish priests affiliated with the Opus Dei Catholic church order, and that the Central Intelligence Agency was spying on him.
The matter first came to light, the DA's office said, in July 2010 when Harrison police came to them because of a related civil issue. And investigation ensued, with police from Harrison, Mount Kisco and New Castle, along with the DA's office, being involved.
Bedi, along with girlfriend Helga Invarsdottir, were arrested in November 2010. Invarsdottir, accused of conspiring with Bedi, pleaded guilty the following month to a count of first-degree grand larceny and a count of second-degree grand larceny, both felonies. She will be sentenced for both counts on April 23.
