GAITHERSBURG, Md. — A New York man is facing charges after police say he pretended to be a federal official warning two women that their bank accounts had been connected to illegal activity, such as child pornography and human trafficking.
The crime is the latest in a trend of scammers convincing their victims to convert money into gold bars for them.
According to the Montgomery County Department of Police, 26-year-old Yash Shah is accused of scamming an 88-year-old woman and her 61-year-old daughter.
Investigators claim Shah pretended to be a member of the Department of Justice. In Feb. 2023, the victims were told that their bank accounts had been used for criminal activity, including child pornography, human trafficking, and illegal gambling.
The victims were told to transfer their assets into cryptocurrency and gold bars. Police say the victims followed instructions and handed over more than $2.3M over five months.
With the help of detectives in New York, Montgomery County Police's Financial Crimes Section identified Shah as one of the couriers who received a delivery of gold bars worth more than $83,000. He was arrested in New York and is currently being held in Nassau County until he is extradited to Maryland.
Law enforcement in Montgomery County have seen similar gold bar scams but say this particular case is the first of its kind.
In August, investigators said a separate gold bar scam has links to China and call centers in India. At least seven victims have been identified who’ve collectively lost more than $6.3 million worth of gold bars.
In May, Prosecutor John McCarthy begged seniors to use caller ID and never pick up a call or respond to a text from an unknown number.
“The government does not communicate with you by text message or phone calls, it's just not the way they do it," McCarthy said.
He also warned seniors never to respond to individuals urging them to act immediately, and never make financial decisions such as purchasing gold bars without at least two trusted advisors for oversight.
MORE ABOUT GOLD BAR SCAMS:
- Man faces up to 80 years in prison for his part in gold bar scam that stole $800k from Silver Spring woman
- Prosecutor warns seniors the 'Gold Bar Scam' is continuing despite arrests
- 82-year-old woman scammed out of nearly $1M in Montgomery County 'gold bar scam'
- Gold bar scam victim contacts police after seeing report on WUSA9
