‘They’re ruining our lives’: Gold bar scam sweeping Wisconsin
By James Stratton
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KENOSHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Kenosha woman is without a home, and her bank accounts are drained. She has lost more than $650,000. She said that was her money and her brother’s, for whom she had the power of attorney. She thought she was keeping it safe, transferring it to gold to give to a “federal agent,” but it was all a lie.
The woman, who did not want her name used in this article, shared her story with 12 News Investigates. She is one of at least 56 victims who have lost more than $18 million in Wisconsin, according to a WISN 12 News tally.
“They’re ruining the lives of all of our seniors,” she said. “It’s senior exploitation. It’s abuse. They’re ruining our lives.”
The scam typically starts with a pop-up ad on a computer, saying the computer is hacked and telling the user to call a phone number. Then, someone on the other end of the phone eventually convinces them that their bank accounts are hacked as well and to convert their life savings to gold. Then, a courier comes to pick it up, and the victim never sees the gold again.
In this woman’s case, it started with a phone call.
“Your PS5 is ready for $1,100 to ship,” she said the caller told her. “I said, ‘I didn’t order it. I’m not going to pay for it. Cancel it.’ I hung up. I guess that was too quick for them.”
The next day, she said she received another call from someone claiming to be from Walmart security. That person, she said, transferred her to someone claiming to be a federal agent.
“He was trying to build trust, and he did,” she said. “I really did believe him.”
“You believed he was a federal agent, with the feds,” investigative reporter James Stratton responded.
“Yeah,” she replied. “He was supposed to be the deputy commissioner of Social Security, working with the FBI.”
After that trust was built, he almost immediately convinced her that her identity had been stolen and was being used to facilitate other crimes. The man sent documents with fake government seals that said her accounts had been hacked and were being used for drug trafficking and money laundering. The man also told her he needed to drain her bank accounts to protect them.
“If you turn your assets into gold, we’ll take it to the U.S. Treasury, where it is FDIC-insured, and it’s kept in a special locker for you,” she said the man told her. “Then, after the case, you’ll get your money back.”
The man also sent her a nondisclosure agreement with United States district court seals. So, she did not tell anyone. Three different times, a courier came to pick up hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold bars. In total, she lost $653,000. The cash, her life savings, and the accounts of her brother, she said, saying she had the power of attorney for him. The woman also sold her house because the person she was speaking to sent her more fake documentation showing it was also caught in the alleged crime involving her bank accounts.
“I sold my house. I sold it in a week,” she said. “I was out of there in a month.”
She also converted that cash to gold and gave it to the courier. After the final drop-off, she asked for them to return her gold, and the man told her the FDIC has limitations.
“By then, you know, the scam was over for me,” she said. “I knew it was a scam.”
Kenosha police are investigating her case and declined to comment. No one has been arrested.
The scam is sweeping Wisconsin, and police across the state are arresting the alleged couriers.
A Waukesha judge sentenced Junjie Liang to six years in prison. Liang pleaded no contest to scamming a Waukesha woman out of $707,558.34 in cashier’s checks and gold bars.
Authorities deported Gourav Patel for scamming a western Wisconsin woman out of $433,279.53
“The first trial I had, when he walked into the courtroom, I said, ‘That’s him,'” the victim told 12 News Investigates last year.
Antonio Pena and Brandi Durst each face a federal charge. Authorities arrested them in Washington after they were accused of scamming people out of millions in gold bars across the country. A federal criminal complaint says the pair was involved with taking more than $2.2 million from a woman in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, near Appleton. The complaint alleges six different pickups occurred between Sept. 10 and Dec. 14, 2024, of more than 700 gold bars and 97 gold coins.
Roshan Shah faces federal charges following a New Berlin police sting that led to his arrest after a New Berlin couple lost more than $500,000 in gold coins.
North Aurora, Illinois, police detectives were investigating a gold bar scam that cost a couple $1.2 million and found someone they say is higher up than a courier. Ankurkumar Patel, of Brookfield, now faces federal charges and is accused of posing as a federal agent to pick up cash and gold.
“Patel also recruited other individuals to operate as couriers or purported federal agents,” his indictment reads.
Sgt. Mike Robinson was the lead investigator on the more than two-year-old case.
“It feels good that we got what information we needed to the federal agencies to build their larger case and snag an individual involved,” Robinson said.
Patel’s attorney said he cannot comment on the case.
“Mr. Patel cannot comment on the case, but this is a complicated matter and more to his story that will be addressed as the case proceeds through court,” Attorney Nicole Masnica said via email.
Back in Kenosha, the woman who lost $653,000 hopes police can find the suspect in her case.
“They came into my life and blew it up,” she said.
She wants to warn others not to answer the same call.
“Just don’t give them the time of day,” she said. “It’s not real. Whatever they tell you, it’s not real. It’s all fake.”
12 News has been investigating the problem for more than a year. Government officials warn they will never request that you buy gold or other precious metals.
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