An Indian student in the United States has been arrested for allegedly tricking an elderly couple in Michigan into handing over $50,000 (around Rs 44 lakh).
The accused, 25-year-old Vedantkumar Bhupenbhai Patel, contacted the victims through email, falsely claiming that their credit card had been used to buy child pornography. He then posed as a government official and convinced the couple to withdraw cash and deliver it to a supposed Treasury Department agent.
Who is Vedantkumar Bhupenbhai Patel
Patel was a student of University of Toledo, studying Mechanical Engineering Technology. He previously studied aeronautics in India and worked in engineering roles in both countries, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He was living in Toledo, Ohio, before his arrest.
Patel has worked in a variety of engineering and service roles. He is currently a Product Engineer at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in Findlay, Ohio, since September 2024. Before this, he worked in Design Engineering at LogistiQ in Port Clinton, Ohio, from May to August 2024, as per his LinkedIn.
He also has experience in the service industry, having been a team member at Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services in Toledo, Ohio, from August to December 2022. Earlier in his career, Patel worked as a Mechanical Engineer at Tilak Engineering Works in Anand, Gujarat, India, from August 2018 to November 2021.
Police in Shelby Township, Michigan, quickly started an investigation because of the couple’s age and vulnerability. With search warrants and license plate camera data, they tracked Patel after he travelled from Ohio to Michigan to take the money.
Patel sent stolen money to India
Police said the investigation showed that Patel had probably already sent the stolen money to his hometown in India while he was trying to cheat other victims.
Patel was arrested on April 30, in Toledo, then extradited to Michigan. He has been charged with multiple felonies, including false pretenses involving $50,000 or more and larceny involving $20,000 or more. His bond has been set at $100,000 cash surety.
FBI to investigate further
The case has now been taken over by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for federal prosecution, while US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Patel because of his visa status.
Authorities say this is part of a disturbing rise in scams that specifically target senior citizens in the US Law enforcement officials have called such crimes “especially cruel” and vowed to take strict action against those involved.
Similar incidents in previous months
Patel’s arrest for allegedly cheating senior citizens comes after three similar cases in the past three weeks of the crime, where Indian students in the US were caught for scamming elderly people.
In April, Kishan Kumar Singh was arrested for allegedly trying to steal money from a 78-year-old woman by pretending to be a law enforcement officer.
Earlier this year, two other Indian students were arrested for allegedly posing as government agents and taking gold and money from an elderly person.
These arrests follow an FBI warning about scammers pretending to be US government officials to target American citizens, especially the elderly. The warning also led police across the country to alert people about fake phone calls and messages.