Davidson, who is a relative of the founders of the oilfield services giant Schlumberger, was concerned that a virus on the computer would destroy his music, according to a New York Times report.
The owner of the shop, Vickram Bedi, and his girlfriend, Helga Invarsdottir, convinced the wealthy composer that he and his family were the victim of an elaborate conspiracy that involved a piece of malware controlled by a group in Honduras and a plot by Polish priests linked to Opus Dei. Vickram persuaded Davidson to pay him not only for data retrieval but also for personal protection.
For more than six years, Vickram’s shop charged Davidson’s credit card accounts for a total of more than $6 million, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s office.
In a bizarre twist to the scam, Bedi convinced Davidson to file a civil lawsuit against Wachovia Bank and three of the bank’s financial advisers. As co-trustees of the Redwood II F Trust, Davidson and Bedi claimed in the lawsuit that the bank had mishandled its $60 million in assets. The people who were sued went to the police in July, setting off the fraud inquiry.
Bedi and Invarsdottir were arrested Nov. 4 at their home in Chappaqua, NY, as they prepared to leave the country for Iceland.