Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Harmish Patel, age 26, of Streamwood, Illinois, was indicted last week for his role in a gold bullion scam that victimized an elderly couple in Rensselaer County.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office, made the announcement.
The indictment alleges that from December 1, 2023, to March 29, 2024, Patel conspired with others to transport across state lines gold bullion that had been taken by fraud, and that he transported gold bullion taken by fraud from New York to New Jersey on December 15, 2023, January 4, 2024, and January 15, 2024. According to the previously filed criminal complaint, Patel picked up gold bullion from an elderly couple in Brunswick, New York; the couple had been defrauded in a scam. The charges in the indictment and complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charges filed against Patel carry a maximum term of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
HSI is investigating the case, with assistance from the New York State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative. The mission of the Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department of Justice’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving elders can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.