Man Indicted, Accused of Fleecing Oil Company Heir of $20 Million

A Chappaqua man accused of bilking a Katonah musician and oil company heir out of $20 million has been indicted on felony charges that could send him to prison for up to 25 years.

Vickram Bedi pleaded not guilty to first- and second-degree grand larceny after rejecting a plea deal in which he would have agreed to serve five to 15 years in state prison.

A grand jury indicted him on Nov. 29.

Westchester County Judge Barbara Zambelli today restored Bedi's $3.5 million bail to $5 million after prosecutors detailed the complicated six-year scheme that Bedi allegedly used to fleece Roger Davidson, a pianist and composer.

Bedi and his girlfriend, Helga Ingvarsdottir, are accused of conning Davidson into believing he was in grave danger because his computer had been compromised and offered him protection. Davidson had taken his virus-plagued computer to Datalink Computer Services, owned by Bedi, in August 2004.

The schemes, prosecutors claim, included stories of threats by Polish priests affiliated with the Roman Catholic Opus Dei order. Bedi allegedly told Davidson that the Central Intelligence Agency had subcontracted with him to help prevent the Polish priests from infiltrating the U.S. government.

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Chappaqua Man Indicted Accused of Fleecing Oil Company Heir of $20 Million