LITTLETON, Colo. — The Littleton Police Department on Friday announced the arrest of a man who allegedly scammed an elderly woman out of $130,000 as part of a "widespread criminal network."
The investigation began on May 18.
According to Littleton police, the elderly woman received a text from someone claiming to be Apple Support, asking her to contact them to dispute a charge. Littleton PD said this led to a "series of sophisticated and well-orchestrated events" where the woman was convinced to send $10,000 worth of Bitcoin. The scammers also arranged for two separate pickups of gold, totaling over $120,000.
At this time, the woman did not realize she was being scammed. Littleton police said the scammers then posed as investigators with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and told the woman that her financial accounts had been hacked. The suspects said the woman needed to secure her funds before they disappeared, so she purchased nearly $450,000 worth of gold and arranged for a pickup.
Before the suspects arrived, the woman realized she was being scammed and called Littleton PD.
Detectives asked the woman to keep communicating with the scammers so they could arrest them. When a suspect arrived to take the gold, Littleton detectives were there and arrested him.
The suspect was later identified as Meet Hittendrakumar Soni, a citizen of India who is in the United States on a valid student visa, according to police. He is currently a resident of New Jersey.
According to Littleton PD, Soni admitted to flying from New Jersey to three other states, including Colorado, to pick up similar packages as part of a "widespread criminal network." He was booked into the Arapahoe County Jail.
If you ever have concerns about the legitimacy of a text message or phone call you receive, especially messages involving personal information or money, be sure to contact your local police department before proceeding to ensure you're not being scammed.
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