Kris Owen, a Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam, planned the passage of Indiana Golden years, Karen. They wanted to spend more time with the son and traveled to the world together.
But he was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019, and the Covid-19 Pandemic soon hit.
“All our plans for the trip and everything came out of the window,” Owen said Abc News.
Two years later, Owen’s wife passed away.
“One of the reasons I had so suspicious for me,” Owen said.
Kris Owen and his wife Karen.
Krisy Kris Owen courtesy
Owen received a pop-up message on his computer to say that his personal information was in danger in 2023 and told him to call a phone number.
When he did so, an individual presented as a federal agent said he would protect his money and ordered him to become his savings in gold bars, Owen said the news ABC. After the communication weeks and after receiving the FBI’s letter, Owen bought an 80,000 gold bar.
“They told me to collect in a box … with Christmas paper paper,” Owen said.
Then he took gold to the grocery store parking near his house, he said, he hoped to deliver a federal agent so that you can keep gold safely. A car soon came out next to Owen, and put the gold in the back seat before the driver came out.
He never saw the money again.
Owen soon realized that he was the victim of a fraud, and it is only far away.
As a value Golden upsGrifters has had their own perspectives in 2024 by the growing scheme of 126 million Americans who sold Americans, according to FBI.
“Gold Grifters”, New research in collaboration with ABC news ABC stations in collaboration with WABC-TV and WLS-TV, found victims of gold bar fraud throughout the country.
As victims continue to compassion and they continue to lose about thousands of thousands of millions of millions, the scheme has apparently surprised authorities.
“I’ve never seen this magnitude, which is aimed at so many individuals in the United States,” Sean Petty, who investigated a detective in Montgomery County’s Gold Barra of Maryland, told the news, ABC.
Montgomery County Detective Sean Petty gives a presentation to a retirement community in Montsomery Maryland.
ABC News
See “Gold Grifters”, ABC news, “ABC News Live Prime” at 20:00 on February 25, 2025.
Gold time for a gold
The cheating of gold bars is worth more than ever value of precious metals. People save gold in record numbers, business, in gold stores across the country, according to the store owners.
“Everyone buys gold as a safe haven,” said Tony Jordan, Jewelry Midwest and Indianapolis food. “It’s the raw material right now.”
But the price of gold rise, cheaters have taken the note.
“Everyone knows that gold is worth something,” said Chris Delzoto’s leader of the FBI Financial Firger unit.
Kris Owen lost $ 80,000 with a gold bar fraud.
ABC News
Catching a messaging
Shortly after Owen gave some savings in his life, cheaters presented as federal agents to request more money again.
“They started again,” Owen said, “said he told me,” now, we have to join the rest of your other money with the other money. ” “
Owen, which was already suspected, contacted law enforcement.
“Then we created the sting operation,” Owen said.
The Department of FBI and the local Indiana Police were unhappy, trying to catch a person who would receive $ 50,000. Owen, wearing a wire, was found in the individual parking lot and put a box with a false box in the back seat of the individual.
“And I said,” You’re my agent. “And he said,” Yes, “Owen said Abc News.” He spoke this time. And then he went as before. “
The enforcement of the law continued to the individual, then identified as Abdul Mohammed and asked him to ask him. Federal prosecutors were charged with conspiracy to make wire scams and wire fraud.
Mohammed, then, escaped to the country, was messaging. Hired individual to receive the victims of gold bar or money, according to law enforcement officials.
FBI said that some friends meet a greater function of the crime scheme, while others were hired to pick up and remove the packages. Throughout the country, law enforcement officials and prosecutors are packed with school, trying to stop criminal operations.
Chris Delzotto, the main financial crime unit for FBI.
ABC News
An alleged messaging speaks
In an exclusive telephone conversation, ABC spoke with an out-of-prison messaging, when he uploaded it in two states, due to the alleged implication of the golden bar.
Yash Shah, 27, originally reloaded with multiple feloniums related to fraud, does not know where gold go. He was guilty and was sentenced to a five-year probability penalty, but was arrested again in November in a case in Maryland. Today, he is doing without a bond in a New York arrest facility.
“I’m not a crime or anything like that,” Shah said ABC News. “I’m a normal person. They are saying (they were) … If you want to do a little money, you need to pick up the package and cancel it. That’s it.”
Shah claims that someone had hired someone in India and paid between $ 800 and $ 4,000 to receive packages, picked up gold bars. His lawyer, Nicholas Ramcharitar, said Shah traveled five to 10 trips to travel throughout the Northeast.
“I want to be clear, Yash’s guilt is there,” Ramcharitar said Abc News. “He understands what he did.”
Shah said he wants to find “mastery” to play the role of fraud and find “mastery”.
“There will be many layers because they work from India,” Shah said.
Delzotto has said that ABC News FBI is researching the Indian call center related to the scam.
“These pop-ups that start the full fraud that emit from an Indian call center,” Delzotok said. “So we have a lot of Indian care (many) illegal call centers.”
Urgent warning
In the United States, messengers face prison sentences, law enforcement officials travel to higher communities to raise awareness about fraud.
“One of the main things that the law enforcement (IN) can oppose any comments, especially for our elders, is advising … Montgomery County Attorney, Maryland.
Delzotto told ABC news because the scams are more sophisticated, people must be prudent with messages they receive on your computer.
“Never click on sites you don’t know,” Delzotok said. We use the phrase “” Take “here. Get the step back. Consult a family member or friend. See if you don’t make sense.”
Wls-TV’s Jason Knowles and WABC-TV’s David Paredes contributed to this report.
