2 accused of scamming Metro Detroit seniors in separate cases charged
Authorities said they have charged two men with defrauding Metro Detroit senior citizens in two separate cases.
In the first, Mohammad Gazi, 49, of Warren, allegedly bilked a Waterford Township senior citizen out of more than $40,000, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.
Gazi was arraigned Sunday in the 51st District Court in Waterford on four charges, according to court records. He is charged with two counts of obtaining between $20,000 and $50,000 under false pretenses as well as two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, records said.
A magistrate set the defendant's bond at $500,000 and scheduled his next court hearing for May 20, court records said. He remained housed at the Oakland County Jail as of Tuesday morning.
If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison or three times the value of the money involved, whichever is greater, for each of the two false pretense charges. He also faces up to 10 years for each charge of using a computer to commit a crime.
Court records on Tuesday said Gazi is being represented by a public defender but did not list an attorney's name.
Prosecutors allege the defendant was involved in a scheme in which a person called an elderly Waterford woman and pretended to be a computer security service representative. The suspect told the victim money had been mistakenly deposited into her account.
Officials said the scammer then instructed the woman to withdraw money from her account three times and turn it over to a man police identified as Gazi. Investigators said she gave him more than $40,000 through the transactions.
She became suspicious after the fourth time the man called her and notified police. Court records said the offenses happened in April.
Detectives said they arrested Gazi in a sting operation.
"Scammers attempt to exploit people’s trust and goodwill, especially seniors," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a statement. "I encourage everyone to be cautious of unsolicited calls or texts that seem suspicious. Trust your gut and never give away personal information to unverified callers. If you’re unsure, call the police."
In the second case, Vedantkumar Bhupenbhai Patel, 25, of Toledo, is accused of scamming an elderly Macomb County couple out of $50,000.
Patel was arraigned last week in the 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on two charges, court records said. He is charged with obtaining between $50,000 and $100,000 under false pretenses and larceny of $20,000 or more, Shelby Township Police said on Monday.
A magistrate set Patel's bond at $100,000, and he is scheduled to next appear in court on Tuesday, according to court records. He remained housed at the Macomb County Jail on Tuesday morning, according to the Sheriff's Office.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for the false pretenses charge and up to 10 years for the larceny charge.
Court records said Patel is being represented by a Macomb County public defender. The attorney, Noel Erinjeri, said he had no comment about the case on Tuesday.
Authorities said Patel contacted the victims via email. The message informed the couple they had fraudulent charges for child pornography pending on their credit card, police said.
It also instructed them to withdraw $50,000 from their bank account to avoid the charges, according to officials. The message also told the couple to put the money in a box, and a U.S. Treasury agent would come to their house to pick it up, investigators said. Furthermore, it told them not to tell anyone about the transaction.
Detectives said the couple reported the fraud on April 5. They began investigating, obtained search warrants and used the township's license plate reading system to identify Patel as the suspect.
Police said they determined Patel is an Indian national who is in the United States on a student visa. Investigators said they believed the suspect had already shipped the couple's money, along with thousands more belonging to other victims, to India.
Authorities arrested Patel in Toledo on April 30 and extradited him to Michigan.
Officials also said federal officials are investigating allegations against Patel in at least two other scams of seniors. In addition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ordered Patel to be held in the country.
"People who prey on the elderly are the most despicable type of criminals that I have dealt with in my 38+ years of law enforcement experience, and our department will use every available resource to identify and arrest these types of evil criminals," Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide said in a statement.
In December, a Chinese man allegedly living in the country illegally was charged in connection with a fraud scheme that targeted a Canton Township senior citizen.
Weeks earlier, a Portage man convicted of mail fraud and money laundering in connection with an international telemarketing scheme that targeted older Americans was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
In October, federal agents said they were hunting for at least $8 million worth of gold bars purchased by senior citizens victimized in an elaborate scam involving two men living in the U.S. illegally and several co-conspirators.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: 2 accused of scamming Metro Detroit seniors in separate cases charged
