A scammer convinced an elderly woman to convert her life savings into gold coins. But instead of collecting $700,000 in gold coins from her, he got a package of chocolate coins.
The incident unfolded when a scammer told a 79-year-old Michigan woman that her Social Security number was tied to terrorism, drug activity and money laundering. The scammer told the woman to withdraw her life savings – $700,000 – and convert the cash into gold coins so police could track the criminals.
The woman contacted Grand Rapids Coins on 10 Mile Road near Rockford and wired $700,000 for 145 one-ounce American Eagle gold coins, according to reports.
But owner Ben Soldaat became suspicious and called the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, according to WANE News. Soldaat told law enforcement the woman seemed confused and she had never bought gold before.
Deputies met the woman at her home, where she was in constant contact with the scammer by phone. After speaking with an investigator posing as the elderly woman, the scammer agreed to meet near the coin shop.
An undercover officer dressed as an older woman was waiting for him with a bag of chocolate coins. The officer handed the package to 20-year-old Yug B. Chauhan.
Chauhan was arrested on the spot after allegedly traveling from Illinois to West Michigan to collect the gold coins. Chauhan was charged with false pretenses of $100,000 or more and using a computer to commit a crime, both felonies.
He is being held at the Kent County jail on a $100,000 bond with an ICE detainer.
The woman’s $700,000 was returned to her bank. The FBI and the FTC warned that scammers target senior citizens and convince them to liquidate assets into cash and exchange the money for precious metals that can’t be traced.
Government agencies say criminals then arrange for couriers to meet victims in person and collect the money or precious metals. The FBI said government agents never tell people to buy gold bars or gold coins.
Criminals purchase victims’ personal information from the dark web, where hackers sell the info stolen from government or retail databases.