21-year-old Indian arrested in US over multi-million-dollar fraud targeting elderly

US authorities have arrested a 21-year-old Indian national, Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, in Canada for his alleged involvement in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme targeting elderly victims. Goswami, who was living in Jersey City, New Jersey, was detained while attempting to flee to Qatar. He has been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The alleged scheme, investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, targeted elderly individuals in New York and other parts of the US, convincing them to convert their assets into cash, gold, or gift cards. Goswami is accused of acting as a "money mule," collecting cash and gold from elderly victims on nine occasions, resulting in losses of around $7.5 million. He was arrested on August 20 following a US request for provisional arrest pending extradition.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.