Harford County Sheriff’s Office arrests suspect in $1 million identity theft, fraud scheme

HARFORD COUNTY, MD—The Harford County Sheriff’s Office has charged a suspect in a complex identity theft and fraud scheme that resulted in a $1 million financial loss for a local resident.

On June 13, 2024, a 73-year-old Harford County woman received an unsolicited email purportedly from Eric Kressman of the Office of the Inspector General. The email claimed that the victim was the target of identity theft. Shortly after, the victim received an unsolicited telephone call from an individual identifying himself as “Willy Le,” identifying himself as an employee of the Social Security Administration. Le convinced the victim that to protect her money, she needed to transfer it to him. Le had detailed information about the victim’s bank accounts and urged her to keep the situation confidential, even requesting her to sign a non-disclosure form, which she refused.

Following Le’s instructions, the victim made several transactions over a five-week period, including deposits into a bitcoin machine and purchases of gold. She met with the suspects on five different occasions to hand over the gold and cash, resulting in a total loss of over a million dollars.

Following the initial report, the investigation was turned over to financial crimes detectives with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. Through investigation, it was determined the suspects used a silver Chevrolet Equinox registered to Devalkumar Harshadkumar Vyas when meeting with the victim. As the investigation progressed, Vyas, along with his wife Mamata D. Vyas, were found to be involved in a similar crime in New York state. Both husband and wife were arrested on July 10, 2024, by the New York State Police and charged in their jurisdiction.

Devalkumar Vyas was interviewed by Harford County detectives on July 31, 2024, and admitted involvement in these fraudulent activities.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a similar scam to come forward.

While an arrest has been made, detectives are continuing their investigation. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Detective Sergent, with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 410-836-5428.