Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has handed down a sentence of six years and three months in federal prison to Pranav Patel, 33, from New Jersey, for his role in a conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of an elder fraud scheme. Additionally, the court ordered the forfeiture of $1,791,301, representing the proceeds from Patel's criminal activities. Patel had entered a guilty plea on December 23, 2024.
The fraud scheme, which Patel was part of, spanned from October to December 2023 and targeted senior citizens. Conspirators, operating from call centers overseas, impersonated government agents, including officers from the United States Department of the Treasury. They misled victims by claiming they had outstanding arrest warrants that could be resolved with payment or by demanding that victims hand over their money and gold for safekeeping under the guise of government protection.
Patel's role involved acting as a money mule, traveling from New Jersey to collect the fraudulently obtained money and gold from elderly victims not only in the Middle District of Florida but also along other parts of the east coast. One victim testified in court that the scam forced him to sell his house and rely solely on Social Security benefits, having been unable to keep up with mortgage payments due to the financial loss.
In December 2023, Patel's criminal activities came to an end when he was arrested in Hillsborough County while attempting to collect what he believed was a box of gold, unaware that he was under law enforcement surveillance.
Special Agent in Charge Robert Engel of the Tampa Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service condemned the crime, stating, "Preying on vulnerable, unsuspecting elderly victims to rob them of their hard-earned money is despicable. Even worse, the defendant’s co-conspirators posed as government agents to defraud victims of nearly $2 million, threatening them with arrest if they didn’t follow their demands."
This case was a collaborative investigation by the United States Secret Service, the Pasco Sheriff's Office, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and Maria Guzman.
