I am one of the senior citizens they targeted.
It started with an email.
An email telling me that my name was linked to criminal activity. They said federal authorities were watching me. They said I would be arrested if I didn’t follow instructions immediately. I was terrified.
They told me to stay silent.
They told me to liquidate my savings.
They told me to buy gold.
Out of fear, I did exactly what they said.
I was instructed to hand the gold to a “designated courier.” I didn’t know then that these couriers were part of a massive, organized scam ripping seniors like me apart across Texas.
According to authorities, those gold bars I handed over didn’t disappear. They were allegedly funneled through Tilak Jewelers in Irving and Saima Jewelers in Frisco, where the gold was melted down into bracelets and other jewelry, sold to innocent customers, or even smuggled out of the country. Everyone involved allegedly took their cut while we lost our life savings.
Law enforcement finally stepped in.
After a year-long investigation, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and federal authorities conducted simultaneous tactical raids on both jewelry stores. Millions of dollars in cash and gold were seized. Only then did the truth come out.
The sheriff’s office had created a task force after receiving complaints from victims like me—seniors, all over the age of 65, stripped of our retirement money through fear and deception.
The couriers arrested include Arpit Desai, Simarjeet Gill, Satish Patel, Pranjal Patel, and Radhakrishhna Yerramneni. Authorities say these individuals allegedly convinced victims we were under federal investigation and forced us into secrecy while directing us to buy large quantities of gold and precious metals.
In Collin County alone, over 200 victims like me lost more than $7 million.
Across Texas, the total stolen exceeded $55 million.
Sheriff Jim Skinner said it clearly:
This wasn’t a mistake.
This wasn’t confusion.
This was an organized, deliberate gold scam targeting seniors, built on fear, lies, and exploitation.
And we were the ones who paid the price.