An identity theft scam involving converting cash to gold bars has cost a Prescott resident $400,000 of their savings and put a Stevens Point man in jail.

Gourav Patel, 35, was ordered to pay $500,000 cash bond July 28 in Pierce County Circuit Court on a felony theft – movable property > $100,000 charge. If convicted, the maximum penalty is 12.5 months in prison and/or up to $25,000 in fines.

According to the complaint:

Police responded to a Prescott address at 7:43 a.m. for a fraud complaint. The victim said over the course -of a month, she had lost $400,000 after responding to a message on her computer telling her to call a phone number in Washington D.C. because her identity had been stolen. She spoke to a person calling herself Lisa Smith, who claimed to be an IT technician. That woman told her that her IP address had been stolen and advised her to call 425-279-8038.

The victim called the number and spoke with a man claiming to be a United States Federal Trade Commissioner named Alvaro Bedoya. He told her someone had gotten into her accounts and to save her money, she should invest in gold bars. The victim also spoke with a woman claiming to be named Lisa Watson, who advised her not to speak to anyone because she was now part of witness protection and that she should let them know whenever she leaves the house.

The victim said she conducted wire transfers from two accounts to the Bank of Oklahoma. After she transferred the money, an order was placed with JM Bullion for gold bars, which were delivered to her house. Once the gold bars arrived, she was told to contact Watson or Bedoya. She was not supposed to open the box. After calling them, a vehicle would come to her house and she would place the box in the backseat, which they would take. She was told the bars were being taken to a federal lockup facility in Washington D.C. This occurred three times with the same driver (later identified as Patel) each time.

The license plate on the vehicle came back to Patel on a BMW sedan from Illinois.

The victim told police the scammers advised her to tell bank employees the wire transfers were for investing in a future family business. Wire transfers occurred on June 20 for $130,000 and June 6 for $298,811.56. She was never given any information on how the money was being invested nor did she receive any back. She was unsure where the gold bars were actually going.

During Patel’s interrogation, he told police he didn’t know what the money was for or coming from. He said if he had known, he wouldn’t have done it. He got a phone from a man who sets up the pick-ups. He’s been working part-time for a friend in Stevens Point who owns 7/11 stores. He told police he would pick up a package, then a man would meet him, go into his car and use his phone to take pictures of the package’s contents.

One photo on the phone shows Patel’s arm and large amounts of cash on the car’s passenger seat. He told police the cash came from his friend’s slot machine in the gas station and that he deposited that money at the bank. The money was all 50s and 100s and already banded like it came from a bank, not a slot machine. 

Patel also told police he sometimes talks on a three-way phone line with two men that he believes are in India.

Patel is scheduled to attend a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 3.