A 22-year-old student from Gujarat, currently enrolled at a Massachusetts college, was arrested by Newport, Rhode Island, police on November 13 after he allegedly turned up at a pre decided spot to collect $ 45,000 in cash from an elderly scam victim.
According to emerging details, court documents say that the victim had previously lost $ 50,000 to impostors posing as U.S. federal agents, before the most recent sting was set up with law-enforcement cooperation.
Allegations are that scammers made a call to the victim, claiming that incriminating documents had been discovered in a vehicle rented in their name, and threatened them with deportation or arrest.
Under duress, the victim withdrew cash and shipped it — first as parcels, later as instructions escalated. On November 3, the fraudsters instructed the victim to buy $ 300,000 worth of gold, which raised suspicions among jewellers and prompted police intervention. Authorities then coordinated a controlled delivery: they arranged for a fake cashier’s cheque of $ 70,000 to be sent, and on November 13 the student — allegedly working as a “runner” — arrived to collect $ 45,000, at which point he was taken into custody.
During questioning, the accused first denied prior involvement but later admitted that he had made four or five similar cash pickups in earlier operations. Investigators say he received calls from the fraud network even while in custody; the scammer reportedly warned him to leave Rhode Island because “the location is dangerous.” Police disabled his phone and later recovered counterfeit cheques linked to the broader scam.
Past incidents
This recent arrest is not an isolated incident. Over the years, multiple people of Gujarati origin have been implicated in transnational fraud, money laundering, and even shoplifting in the United States.
In 2019, Hardik Jayantilal Patel, illegally residing in Kentucky, led a “runner” network to launder millions of dollars obtained from telemarketing fraud schemes. He pleaded guilty in December 2023 and was sentenced in April 2025 to 46 months in prison, along with three years of supervised release, for defrauding at least 85 elderly Americans of more than $ 3.2 million.
In 2022, two men from Gujarat — one from Ahmedabad, the other from Gandhinagar — were convicted in the U.S. for operating a transnational call-centre fraud that impersonated Social Security Administration officials.
Thereafter, in the first half of 2025, 12 individuals of Gujarati origin were sentenced in federal U.S. courts for defrauding elderly citizens. Among them, eight were illegal immigrants; their roles ranged from money mules to launderers.
In 2024, Pratik Patel, a Gujarat-origin man on a visitor visa, was arrested on February 7 while attempting to collect $ 40,000. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced in April 2025 to 90 months (7.5 years) in prison for wire fraud.
Earlier this year, a woman reportedly from Gujarat was caught shoplifting at a Target store in the U.S., attempting to exit with unpaid merchandise. Bodycam footage later surfaced, sparking debate about diaspora image.
Also Read: Marriage Of Convenience For Green Card: Gujarat Woman Teams Up With Man In Florida, Faces US Probe https://www.vibesofindia.com/marriage-of-convenience-for-green-card-gujarat-woman-teams-up-with-man-in-florida-faces-us-probe/
