Five individuals have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, accused of stealing over $8 million from elderly victims across at least ten states through a tech support scam involving gold bars. The accused are Dariona Lambert, 22; Zhamoniq Stevens, 23; Chintankumar Parekh, 51; Mehul Darji, 41; and Sital Singh, 42. Lambert, Stevens, and Parekh were initially indicted in June.
The indictment alleges that the group contacted elderly victims by phone and electronic messages, falsely claiming their savings and retirement accounts were compromised. Victims were instructed to transfer funds to the conspirators for security purposes. In some cases, transfers involved gold bars purchased by victims and collected by couriers working for the fraudsters.
An example involves an 82-year-old St. Louis woman who was convinced her financial accounts were compromised. She was instructed to open new bank accounts, transfer money overseas, and purchase about $250,000 worth of gold bars. On May 1, 2024, Lambert traveled from Gainesville to St. Louis to retrieve these gold bars but was intercepted by law enforcement.
Lambert and Stevens acted as couriers paid in cash while Parekh, Darji, and Singh served as handlers collecting gold bars from various locations across the country. The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Ashley T. Johnson highlighted the agency’s role in preventing such scams: “This case is another example of the FBI being able to stop the scam before a victim gets robbed out of his or her life savings.”
A motion has been filed seeking detention for Parekh and Darji until trial due to their unlawful status in the United States—Parekh overstayed his work visa while Darji had previously been removed from the country.
Charges outlined in an indictment are accusations only; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 30 years imprisonment or a $1 million fine.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting this case.
For those aware of cyber scam victims, reports can be made online via the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
