FBI’s Most Wanted: The Gujarati Who Allegedly Preyed On America’s Elderly
He pumped fuel. He worked at cash registers. He stocked store shelves. A healthy, clean life on the surface. But the FBI uncovered something sinister in his operations. This man was stealthily managing a team that duped elderly Americans of their savings.
Kalpesh Patel, 34, from North Gujarat, has allegedly landed on the FBI’s most wanted list.
Federal investigators say he masterminded a nationwide “digital arrest” scam between 2017 and 2021 that preyed largely on senior citizens across the US.
Patel allegedly entered the US through an illegal route in 2015. He goes by the aliases Mecco, Kenny and Kenny Patel.
The operation was straightforward and brutal. Patel and his associates would call elderly victims and convince them their identities were tied to criminal activity. Then came the threats: fabricated legal consequences, mounting pressure, and ultimatums to transfer money immediately.
Victims sent cash and prepaid debit cards to addresses scattered across the country. The money moved through a network of mules.
An official involved in the probe told a media house that Patel was behind hundreds of such cases, with senior citizens as the primary targets.
A federal arrest warrant was issued against him on June 22, 2023, by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He is wanted for mail and wire fraud conspiracy. The FBI believes he is currently living in or moving between Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Patel was born on May 17, 1991, according to reports. He is 5’9”, weighs around 185 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. The FBI has flagged him as dangerous.
This is not the first time a Gujarati has featured on the FBI’s radar at this level. In April 2024, the agency announced a $250,000 reward for information on Bhadresh Chetan Patel, accused of killing his wife at a doughnut shop in Hanover, Maryland, in 2015.
The FBI is asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact their nearest FBI office, American Embassy or Consulate.
