New York (IANS) | Two Indian men in Florida have been accused of duping a 69-year-old woman of $80,000 over the phone. Police gave this information. Partha Patel, 33, and Jairami Kuruguntla, 25, were arrested and booked at the Marion County Jail, the Ocala Police Department said.
The scam began on May 23 when the victim received a pop-up message on her iPad claiming that her bank account details had been hacked and that she needed to call a number.
She calls that phone number and the thug tells her that he is a suspect in a child pornography case.
The swindler explained that it was from her bank and that $30,000 worth of child pornography had been purchased from her account in China and that in order to resolve the matter, she needed to pay $30,000.
Police reported that during the phone call, his calls were transferred to various fictitious departments such as his bank, the Federal Communications Commission and the Treasury Department.
Fearing arrest, he withdrew money from his bank and, according to the swindler, went to a bitcoin ATM at a local gas station to deposit the cash into a cryptocurrency account.
The next day, the swindler contacts her again and demands an additional $50,000. Again, she withdrew cash from her bank, but refused to deposit it at a bitcoin ATM she said because she didn’t feel safe carrying that much money. So the thug said that someone would come from his house and take the money.
A release from the Ocala Police Department said that after some time, an Indian male arrived at the woman’s residence in a car.
He gave her the money inside the vehicle. She could only see part of his face. After the accused left, the victim informed the police about the incident. He said he only gave the money because he was afraid he would be killed if he didn’t.
The swindler told her that she would be contacted again the next day.
On May 25 detectives were in the area of the victim’s residence. This time, he was again requested to withdraw $50,000 and was told that someone would take the money from his residence.
Eventually, a car came and pulled up in front of the victim’s residence and the detectives stopped traffic.
The occupants of the car were identified as Kuruguntla and Patel and were taken to the Ocala Police Department.
During interrogation, Kuruguntla claimed that he was not aware that he had been sent to Ocala for this assignment. He told that he was told to pick up a package from the lady for a friend of hers in India.
Patel initially lied and said that they had come to hang out and have dinner, but later said that they had to pick up a package at the victim’s address for a friend in India.
Patel was charged with organized fraud ($50,000 or more) and illegal use of a two-way communication device.
Kuruguntla was charged with theft ($50,000 or more from a person 65 years of age or older) and fraud for obtaining property worth $50,000 or more.
The police had requested to keep him in jail, but despite this he has been released on bail.
–IANS
