Gujarati green card holder held in $3 million gold scam

AHMEDABAD: A Gujarati woman, aged around 30, holding a US green card was arrested in the US on May 19 for allegedly acting as a courier in a multi-million-dollar fraud in which a 74-year-old was duped into handing over more than $3 million worth of gold. This is a rare incident where a green card holding woman of this age has been caught in the crime targetting the elderly.

Investigators claimed the woman was wanted in at least 15 similar fraudulent deliveries carried out across Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin on instructions from a “family friend” based in Gujarat.

According to court documents, the accused was intercepted by FBI agents during a planned gold pickup outside a liquor store in Franklin, Indiana. Authorities alleged she arrived to collect “nearly $500,000 worth of gold coins while posing as a US Marshal”.

The case surfaced after the victim, living with her sister in Camby, Indiana, received a pop-up warning on her computer claiming her identity had been compromised. The scammers allegedly impersonated officials and convinced the woman to transfer millions of dollars and convert her savings into gold for “govt protection”.

Investigators said the victim had already spent over $3 million on gold before the FBI was alerted by a coin dealer who found another large purchase suspicious. Agents then coordinated a sting operation and detained the accused woman during the scheduled pickup.

During questioning, the woman allegedly admitted she worked as a courier for a wider fraud syndicate operating from outside the US. She reportedly told investigators that a “family friend from Gujarat was among the key handlers coordinating the scam”.

A search of her mobile phone allegedly revealed photographs of elderly victims, route maps and pickup instructions connected to at least 15 deliveries. Investigators claimed she earned around $10,000 for carrying out the assignments.

The woman, who moved from India to the US in 2020 and is an active green card holder, has been charged with fraud, theft and impersonating a public official. She is currently lodged in Johnson County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond.