An elderly woman in Texas helped federal authorities nab a scammer connected to a massive international ring that stole allegedly millions and caused one victim to commit suicide.
The woman, who did not want to be publicly identified, said she was taken in by the phone call from a scammer claiming to alert her about fraud targeting her credit card.
The arrest helped authorities in their investigation of the international ring targeting more than 200 senior citizens in Northern Texas and other states.
“He comes on, and he says that he is the head of the fraud division of the Social Security Administration in Washington. And he’s very official, very smart, intelligent,” said the woman from Frisco to KDFW-TV.
The scammer provided documents to her to show that he worked with the U.S. government and that he would keep her money safe.
She gave him $30,000.
Then the scammer told her to take $22,000 out of another account at the bank to hand over to him. When she tried to withdraw the money, a bank manager refused the transaction.
“The manager came out, and thank goodness for her, she said, ‘You’re getting scammed,'” she said.
The victim filed a report with the Frisco police, who then had her turn the tables on her scammer.
Police gave her counterfeit money in a box to give to the courier, who tried to drive away after receiving the box but was arrested by police.
The arrest helped authorities in their investigation of the international ring targeting more than 200 senior citizens in Northern Texas and other states.
One of the alleged organizers of the scam was caught on Sept. 4 when he tried to flee the country through New York, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
35-year-old Muzaamil Ahmed had allegedly built shell corporations in order to launder money scammed from senior citizens. He converted the stolen cash and gold into cryptocurrency that was then moved out of the country, according to prosecutors.
“If you are participating in this scam, know this: We are dismantling your network,” said District Attorney Phil Sorrells. “You will face justice in Tarrant County.”
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Sorrells said he knew of one case where a victim lost life savings to the scam and committed suicide as a result.
The criminal network was responsible for $250 million in theft from victims, prosecutors said.
Others had been indicted in the scam, including store owners who melted down gold, people who transferred the stolen funds in cryptocurrency, and others who set up bank accounts to aid in the money laundering.
Ahmed was booked into the Tarrant County Jail, and officials are working to extradite two other suspects in the scam.
“Law enforcement will never call you and tell you to buy gold or withdraw cash or purchase things like cryptocurrency for safety. If someone tells you to do that, hang up,” Sorrells warned.
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