A New Jersey man was arrested last month after scamming a senior citizen in Colorado out of $120,000 in gold bars by convincing her that he was a federal agent and that her bank accounts had been compromised, authorities said.
The scam started to unfold in July when a 79-year-old Highlands Ranch woman noticed a pop-up on her computer warning of a possible virus and with instructions to call an 888 number, officials from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said at a press conference last week.
A man — later identified as 26-year-old Sagar Patel — answered her call and advised someone had accessed her bank accounts.
Patel instructed the woman to buy two $60,000 gold bars and have them delivered to her home. She was also told not to call the police, authorities said.
Days later, Patel again reached out and told the woman to meet an “undercover federal agent” at a convenience store in Littleton to hand off the gold bars. The victim was promised she’d be sent a check to cover the cost of the bars, officials said.
A driver partially rolled down the windows, took the bars and tried to obtain more financial information from the victim, the sheriff’s office said
The woman grew suspicious, though, and took down the rental car’s license plate number before contacting her bank. She then called the sheriff’s office, who launched an lengthy investigation that culminated in Patel’s arrest on Feb. 1 in Jersey City.
“There were a lot of dead ends during the seven-month investigation, but (the detective) did not give up,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said. “Through cell phone records, credit card records, surveillance cameras, and good old fashioned detective work, (our detective) was able to track down the suspect.”
The gold bars were not recovered, authorities said.
Patel, who has addresses in Rutherford and Jersey City, was later extradited to Colorado and made a first appearance in court on Feb. 20.
Patel is charged with theft of more than $100,000 and less than $1 million and crimes against an at-risk person
He is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with his next court date scheduled for March 21, a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said Monday.
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com
