22-Year-Old India National Convicted in $8m Cash-and-Gold Scam That Drained US Pensioners' Savings

A 22-year-old Indian national has been convicted of his role in an international fraud scheme that defrauded elderly Americans of approximately $8 million in cash and gold, with victims losing their entire life savings in a sophisticated operation that spanned multiple US states.

Atharva Shailesh Sathawane was found guilty by a federal jury in Gainesville, Florida, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering on 5 November 2024. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, who described Sathawane as 'a courier in an international fraud scheme'.

Heekin said: 'This criminal alien will be held accountable for his role in the financial exploitation of several vulnerable, elderly victims. I am incredibly proud of the work by my office to pursue justice on behalf of the defrauded victims in this case, and we will see to it that fraudsters are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law'.

The Sting That Caught the Courier

The scheme unravelled when an elderly man in Gainesville, Florida, suspected fraud and alerted local authorities. Law enforcement coordinated a ruse to apprehend the courier, arresting Sathawane upon his arrival at the elderly man's residence to pick up more gold.

A subsequent search of Sathawane's mobile phone confirmed his involvement in the extensive elder fraud scheme, including participation in over 30 transactions in numerous states. Court documents revealed that numerous American citizens had lost their entire life savings or experienced substantial financial hardship as a result of the scheme.

Trial testimony and court documents demonstrated that whilst illegally in the United States, Sathawane picked up cash and gold from elderly victims and then delivered the assets to unknown individuals in parking lots. To coordinate the transfers, the defendant worked with other individuals, some of which were in India, his native country.

How the Scam Operated

The fraud scheme, known as a 'phantom hacker' scam, involved scammers acting as customer service representatives for stores or banks, contacting target victims and falsely informing them that their bank accounts had been hacked or compromised.

Victims were then directed to a fake federal law enforcement agent for supposed assistance. The fake federal agent would proceed to obtain the victim's savings by deception, typically threatening imminent seizure or arrest.

In one common example, elderly victims were contacted by someone pretending to be an Amazon employee, who informed the victim of suspicious activity on their accounts. Next, the victim was contacted by another person who claimed to be from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and informed the victim that their identity was stolen.

The victim was then contacted by an individual who claimed to be a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent. The fake DEA special agent claimed that the account in question was being investigated for facilitating fraud and had resulted in supposed arrest warrants for the victim.

Fearing legal action, elderly victims were convinced to liquidate their retirement accounts to obtain cash and/or gold, which Sathawane would then collect.

Sometimes scammers instructed victims to wire funds to a metal dealer who would ship the precious metals to victims' homes. Once victims obtained the cash and/or precious metals, the scammers sent couriers to retrieve the items at victims' homes or public locations. Scammers directed victims to authenticate the transaction with the courier using a passcode, such as the serial number of a US dollar bill.