A US court has sentenced 43-year-old Sital Singh to four years in prison for his role in a nationwide scam that defrauded elderly victims of millions of dollars through fraudulent gold purchases, federal authorities said.
The scam, which involved both US-based operatives and overseas scammers, targeted elderly victims across the United States, collecting about $9.3 million in total.
Singh pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud along with four other accused, who were also sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay restitution to victims.
The scam relied on overseas scammers contacting elderly victims by phone calls and electronic messages, falsely claiming that their savings or retirement accounts had been compromised.
Victims were then persuaded to "secure" their funds by purchasing gold bars or coins and handing them over to couriers, who were often paid in cash.
Authorities estimate that the overseas scam network collected about $9.3 million from victims across the United States.
Court documents detailed one case involving an 82-year-old woman in St. Louis who was told by a caller posing as a computer support representative that her financial accounts had been compromised.
She was instructed to buy about $250,000 worth of gold bars to protect her funds.
Law enforcement agents intercepted the courier at the residence, after which one of the handlers fled to Pittsburgh upon learning she had been apprehended.
