Man charged in international scam that targeted Cherokee County woman, sheriff says
Parth Patel (Cherokee County Sheriffs Office)
CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. - A Canadian man is facing charges in Cherokee County over what officials say was an international scam that stole more than $100,000 from a local senior citizen.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said the scam began with one phone call and continued for over two weeks with multiple other calls.
According to investigators, the scam began when someone claiming to be with Amazon called an 80-year-old Cherokee County resident about an iPhone purchase.
When the woman told the caller she had never bought an iPhone, the person on the other end of the line tricked her into believing someone had stolen her identity.
Telling the woman they needed to make sure her finances were secure, the caller transferred her to someone claiming to be with the United States Treasury Department, who got her to buy three gift cards totaling $1,500.
After she gave them that information, officials say the group convinced her to wire $50,000 to a New York bank.
"After the wire transfer was completed, the victim was advised to protect additional assets, she needed to purchase 40 ounces of gold from a local gold distributor and that an associate from the US Treasury would meet her and secure the gold for safekeeping," the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said.
The woman gave the gold to an "associate" at a local business and was going to buy another $200,000 in gold when she spoke with a family member, who contacted investigators.
Detectives then staged a fake gold handoff on April 26 at a location near Woodstock. There, they arrested 27-year-old Parth Patel of Ontario, Canada. Patel, who is now out of jail on bond, is charged with felony criminal attempt and felony conspiracy to commit a crime.
Investigators say they believe that Patel is one of the lower-level associates who work for the organization by traveling around the country meeting different victims. The main suspects in the alleged scam are believed to live in India and the UK.
The sheriff is urging Georgians to talk with their loved ones about this kind of scam,
"Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies will never call and ask for cash, gold, or gift cards," the sheriff's department said. "These scammers are very convincing."
If you believe that you or someone you know has been a victim of the scam, call 911.