How $260,000 in gold bars landed a man behind bars

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said a phone scammer from India was caught with more than $260,000 in gold bars and is part of a much larger crime ring targeting local residents.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the sheriff's office said the investigation into Tejaskumar Bipinbhai Patel, 21, started when he called an elderly Martin County resident and claimed he was a law enforcement officer, telling the victim there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Patel said that if the resident didn't pay up, he would be hauled off to jail, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators said Patel, who claimed he came to the U.S. from India in 2023 using a Green Card, convinced the resident to buy $150,000 in gold bars, telling the victim it was almost enough to pay off the outstanding warrants.

The elderly resident took the gold bars to a driver who was waiting for the payment.

"It wasn’t until the gold was gone that the victim realized he was scammed. So, he called MCSO," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.

Martin County Sheriff's Office

The sheriff's office said Patel then called the victim back, demanding more gold.

This time, however, when Patel arrived at the drop-off location, Martin County detectives were waiting for him and took him into custody.

Authorities found more than 100 gold bars worth $242,000 in Patel's vehicle. He was arrested for multiple counts of grand theft of $100,000 or more.

Martin County Sheriff's Office

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Patel is "linked to a larger group of thieves who call US citizens posing as law enforcement."

"The criminal organizations engaged in this type of fraud against our citizens often ship the proceeds they steal to other countries, making it impossible for detectives to recover," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook. "But this time, not only did we recover the stolen gold, we unmasked one of the many voices that lie, steal, and victimize innocent US citizens."

The sheriff's office said its working with state and federal law enforcement agencies on the case.