Nigam Bhatt, an Indian man in the U.S. on a work visa, was arrested for allegedly cheating an elderly person in a gold scam. Bhatt, aged 25, who was residing in the town of Parsippany, New Jersey, was taken into custody on Tuesday by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO) and booked on extortion charges.
Authorities say Bhatt was linked to a scam operation in which perpetrators contact senior citizens, falsely claiming their bank accounts and Social Security benefits have been frozen. Victims are then allegedly told that the only way to unfreeze the accounts is by exchanging or handing over physical gold.
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The arrest happened after detectives from the Collin County Sheriff’s Office in Texas contacted the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office over the weekend regarding their ongoing investigation into the gold scam. Multiple senior citizens have allegedly been conned, according to investigators.
Bhatt was arrested before he could collect more than $800,000 worth of gold from an elderly resident he allegedly targeted. At the direction of Criminal Investigations Captain John Gardner, a team from TPSO learned about this, and arrested Bhatt with assistance from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation is ongoing. Sheriff Gerald Sticker said residents should be suspicious of any calls about their financial accounts. He said residents are advised to hang up and call their banking institution to verify the caller’s claims. Residents are also advised to never provide personal or financial information over the phone and never send money or valuables to strangers online, by mail or through suspicious meet-ups.
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Earlier this month, another Indian, Tushar Sharma was arrested in Chenango County, New York, and accused of scamming $200,000 from a victim. Taken into custody on April 1, Sharma now faces Grand Larceny in the second degree (a Class C felony), Scheme to Defraud in the first degree (a Class E felony), and Conspiracy in the fourth degree (a Class E felony). He had been living in California.
Other recent frauds include a billing fraud by a urologist in Atlanta, who allegedly performed unnecessary procedures, and billed government healthcare programs for procedures and tests that were not performed or were medically unnecessary. Another fraud was committed by a former U.S. Air Force former sergeant master who pleaded guilty to defrauding the military branch out of $37 million by inflating the cost of IT contracts and diverting funds.