Kris Owen, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran, had deliberate to spend his golden years in Indiana along with his spouse, Karen. They needed to spend extra time along with his son and journey the world collectively.
However she was identified with breast most cancers in 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic hit quickly after.
“All of our plans for journey and every little thing sort of went out the window,” Owen informed ABC Information.
Two years later, Owen’s spouse handed away.
“Most likely one of many causes I used to be so inclined to what occurred to me,” Owen mentioned.
Kris Owen and his spouse Karen.
Courtesy Kris Owen
Owen acquired a pop-up message on his laptop in 2023 saying that his private info was compromised — and was informed to name a cellphone quantity.
When he did, a person posing as a federal agent mentioned they might safeguard his cash and instructed him to transform a few of his financial savings into gold bars, Owen informed ABC Information. After weeks of communications and after receiving what he thought was a letter from the FBI, Owen bought $80,000 price of gold bars.
“They informed me to wrap it in a field … with Christmas wrap paper,” Owen mentioned.
He then took his gold to a grocery retailer car parking zone close to his home, he mentioned, anticipating at hand it over to a federal agent so the gold may very well be stored in a safe location. A automobile quickly pulled up subsequent to Owen and he positioned the gold within the again seat earlier than the motive force took off.
He by no means noticed the cash once more.
Owen quickly realized that he was the sufferer of a rip-off — and he’s removed from alone.
As the worth of gold surges, grifters have turned their sights to securing extra of the valuable steel in a rising scheme that defrauded People of some $126 million in 2024, in keeping with the FBI.
“Gold Grifters,” a brand new investigation by ABC Information in collaboration with ABC stations WABC-TV and WLS-TV, discovered victims of the gold bar courier rip-off all through the nation.
As victims proceed to encounter the ruse and lose wherever from 1000’s to thousands and thousands of {dollars} every, the scheme has seemingly surprised authorities.
“I’ve by no means seen a rip-off to this magnitude, as intricate and as detailed as this, that may goal so many people throughout your complete United States,” Sean Petty, a detective for the Montgomery County Police Division who has investigated a number of gold bar rip-off circumstances in Maryland, informed ABC Information.
Montgomery County Detective Sean Petty provides a presentation to a retirement neighborhood in Montgomery County, Maryland.
ABC Information
Watch “Gold Grifters,” an ABC Information investigation, on “ABC Information Reside Prime” at 7 p.m. ET on Feb. 25, 2025.
A golden time for gold
The rip-off involving gold bars comes as the worth of the valuable steel is price extra now than ever. Persons are stockpiling gold in file numbers, with enterprise persevering with to increase at gold shops throughout the nation, in keeping with the shop house owners.
“All people’s shopping for gold as a secure haven,” mentioned Tony Jordan, the proprietor of Midwest Jewellery and Bullion in Indianapolis. “It is a scorching commodity proper now for certain.”
However as the value of gold surges, scammers have taken discover.
“All people is aware of gold is price one thing,” mentioned Chris Delzotto, part chief of the Monetary Crimes unit for the FBI.
Kris Owen misplaced $80,000 to the gold bar rip-off.
ABC Information
Catching a courier
Quickly after Owen handed over a few of his life financial savings, scammers posing as federal brokers contacted him once more to request extra money.
“They got here again and began once more,” Owen mentioned, explaining that they’d mentioned, “‘Now, we have to put the remainder of the cash away in our safe vault along with your different cash.'”
Owen, who was already suspicious, contacted regulation enforcement.
“So then we arrange the sting operation,” Owen mentioned.
The FBI and a neighborhood Indiana police division had Owen go undercover to attempt to catch a person who was alleged to obtain $50,000 from him. Owen, carrying a wire, met with the person at a car parking zone and positioned a field with faux money within the particular person’s again seat.
“And I mentioned, ‘You are my agent.’ And he mentioned, ‘Sure,'” Owen informed ABC Information. “This time he spoke. After which he drove off similar to earlier than.”
Legislation enforcement adopted the person, who they later recognized as Abdul Mohammed, and took him in for questioning. He was charged by federal prosecutors with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud.
Mohammed, who later fled the nation, was a courier — a person recruited to choose up gold bars or money from victims, in keeping with regulation enforcement officers.
The FBI says some couriers play a bigger function within the prison scheme, whereas others declare they have been merely employed to choose up and drop off packages. Throughout the nation, regulation enforcement officers and prosecutors are focusing on couriers to attempt to put a cease to the prison operation.
Chris Delzotto, Part Chief of the Monetary Crimes unit for the FBI.
ABC Information
An alleged courier speaks out
In an unique cellphone interview, ABC Information spoke to a suspected courier from jail as he faces costs in two states for his alleged involvement in gold bar schemes.
Yash Shah, 27, who was initially charged with a number of felonies in 2023 associated to the rip-off, claims he doesn’t know the place the gold goes. He pleaded responsible and was sentenced to 5 years probation, however he was arrested once more final November for his alleged involvement in a Maryland case. He’s at the moment being held with out bond in a New York detention facility.
“I am not a prison or something like that,” Shah informed ABC Information. “I am only a regular particular person. They [were] simply saying … in case you wanna make somewhat extra money, it’s a must to go choose up the package deal, and it’s a must to simply drop it over there. That is it.”
Shah claims he was employed by somebody from India and was paid between $800 and $4,000 to choose up packages, some which contained gold bars. His lawyer, Nicholas Ramcharitar, mentioned Shah took between 5 and 10 journeys touring all around the Northeast as a courier.
“I need to be clear, Yash’s culpability is unquestionably there,” Ramcharitar informed ABC Information. “He understands what he did.”
Shah mentioned he feels responsible for enjoying a task within the rip-off and desires to assist regulation enforcement discover the “masterminds.”
“There are going to be many layers as a result of they’re working from India,” Shah mentioned.
Delzotto informed ABC Information the FBI is investigating name facilities in India which are linked to the rip-off.
“These tech help pop-ups that provoke the entire rip-off emanate from a name middle in India,” Delzotto mentioned. “So now we have plenty of deal with India with [a lot of] these illegitimate name facilities.”
An pressing warning
In the US, as couriers are going through jail sentences, regulation enforcement officers are touring to senior communities to lift consciousness in regards to the rip-off.
“One of many fundamental issues anyone who’s [in] regulation enforcement can do towards any scams, significantly people who goal our seniors, is to advise … and educate … about what these scams are,” mentioned John McCarthy, the state’s lawyer for Montgomery County, Maryland.
Delzotto informed ABC Information that as a result of scams are getting extra refined, folks ought to be cautious with messages they obtain on their laptop.
“By no means click on on websites that you just’re not conversant in,” Delzotto mentioned. “We use the phrase ‘take a beat’ right here. Step again. Seek the advice of with a trusted member of the family or buddy. See if it is sensible earlier than you interact.”
WLS-TV’s Jason Knowles and WABC-TV’s David Paredes contributed to this report.
