Five individuals have been charged with stealing at least $8 million from victims across ten states, including an elderly Missouri woman, through an elaborate tech support scam.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Missouri announced charges of wire fraud against Dariona Lambert, 22; Zhamoniq Stevens, 23; Chintankumar Parekh, 51; Mehul Darji, 41; and Sital Singh, 42.
The group allegedly targeted elderly victims by phone and electronic messages, falsely claiming that their savings and retirement accounts had been compromised. The victims were instructed to transfer funds to protect their accounts.
In a shocking twist, the scammers had the victims purchase gold bars and arranged for carriers to pick them up. The gold was then shipped to other members of the scam network.
Lambert and Stevens allegedly worked as carriers, while Parekh, Darji, and Singh were handlers, coordinating the collection and transportation of the gold bars from the victims’ residences.
One victim, an 82-year-old woman from St. Louis, was convinced that her financial accounts were at risk after being contacted by the scammers posing as tech support. They instructed her to open new bank accounts, transfer her money, wire funds overseas, and purchase $250,000 worth of gold bars.
On May 1, Lambert reportedly traveled from Florida to St. Louis, where she rented a car and drove to a parking lot near the woman’s home. Lambert and other conspirators took an Uber to the victim’s residence to collect the gold bars but were intercepted by law enforcement.
Lambert quickly sent a warning message to her fellow scammers via WhatsApp, saying “police,” which led Parekh to flee to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The group operated across multiple states, including Arizona, California, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
Both Parekh and Darji were in the U.S. unlawfully, with Parekh overstaying his work visa and Darji having been previously deported in 2014. Authorities are seeking to have both detained until their trial.
All five defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of a cyber scam, it is essential to report it. Contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.