Ahmedabad: Two Gujaratis have been sentenced to four years in prison in the US for their role in a $6.6 million transnational ‘gold bar’ scam that targeted elderly victims, authorities said on Thursday. Chintan Parekh, 52, and Mehul Darji, 42, were part of a conspiracy that defrauded elderly victims across multiple states by convincing them to convert their savings into gold and hand it over to couriers. Investigators said both men were also living illegally in the US, with Parekh overstaying his work visa and Darji being deported from the country in 2014.The two were sentenced by US district judge Matthew Schelp in St Louis after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.According to prosecutors, Parekh and Darji worked as “handlers” in a wider network run by overseas scammers who targeted victims through phone calls and messages. Victims were falsely told that their financial or retirement accounts were compromised and that they needed to move their money to “secure” assets, often by purchasing gold bars or coins.Once the victims bought the gold, couriers were sent to collect it. Authorities said the network’s overseas operators are believed to have netted about $9.3 million through the scam.Parekh and Darji were responsible for coordinating and collecting the gold from victims in several cities across the US. They then paid couriers in cash after retrieving the valuables.In one instance cited by investigators, an 82-year-old woman in St Louis was contacted by a caller posing as a computer software support representative who claimed her accounts were compromised. She was persuaded to buy about $250,000 worth of gold bars to “safeguard her funds”.A courier, Dariona Lambert, flew from Gainesville, Florida, to St Louis on May 1, 2024, to collect the gold. Parekh rented a car and drove Lambert to a parking lot near the victim’s residence. Lambert then took a rideshare to the woman’s home but was intercepted by law enforcement officers before the exchange could take place. After Lambert alerted Parekh that she had been apprehended, he fled to Pittsburgh, according to court records.Investigators said Parekh worked as a handler in multiple gold pickups from victims in Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, while Darji coordinated pickups in Arizona, Florida and California.Lambert was sentenced to two years in prison, while another courier, Zhamoniq Stevens, received an 18-month prison term. All four were ordered to pay restitution. Officials confirmed that both Parekh and Darji will be deported from the United States after completing their prison terms because they were living in the country unlawfully.“Their crimes devastated elderly victims by robbing them of their life savings,” said Chris Crocker, special agent in charge of the FBI’s St Louis division. The case was investigated by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
