Gujarat man held in New York for cheating elderly woman out of $80k
Ahmedabad: A 25-year-old man from Gujarat, Abhishek Patel, was arrested in Geneva, New York, on June 24 for allegedly duping an elderly resident in a telephone scam. Patel, originally from North Gujarat and now residing in Kingston, Pennsylvania, is accused of impersonating a Federal Trade Commission officer and extracting around $80,000 from the victim in two separate transactions earlier in June.
According to the City of Geneva police department, Patel contacted the elderly woman over the phone and convinced her that she owed money to federal authorities. He allegedly persuaded her to hand over cash in person. On the second occasion, police set up a traffic stop and took Patel into custody soon after he visited the victim's house and collected more money.
Police suspect that Patel conducted similar scams in other parts of New York state.
He was booked for grand larceny in the second degree, a Class C felony, and was sent to the Ontario County jail. Patel was later released on his own recognizance and is expected to appear in court at a future date.
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His arrest adds to a growing list of Indian nationals held for defrauding senior citizens in the US using similar methods. In March 2025, a Vadodara man was held in New Jersey for being part of a syndicate that extracted over $1.2 million through similar tactics. In April, two youths from Mehsana were caught in Texas while acting as cash mules after elderly victims were manipulated through fake Internal Revenue Service calls.
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