Indian student arrested in US, conned elderly couple of $50K with child-porn ruse

An Indian student was arrested in the US for allegedly duping an elderly Michigan couple of $50,000 (approximately Rs 41 lakh). Vedantkumar Bhupenbhai Patel, the 25-year-old, contacted the victims by email, claiming there were pending charges on their credit cards for purchasing child pornography.

Patel, who is in the US on a student visa, is also being investigated in two other scams involving elderly people.

This case is the fourth such incident in the past three weeks in which an Indian student in the US was arrested for duping senior citizens.

MONEY MIGHT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SENT TO INDIA: POLICE

Patel, after tickling the couple to believe that their credit card had been used to purchase child pornography, told them to withdraw $50,000 from their bank account in order to prevent the charges from being persued.

He then asked the elderly couple to place the cash in a box for pickup by a supposed Treasury agent and instructed them not to tell anyone, accoeding to the Shelby Township Police Department.

Two days later, Patel went to the victims' home, impersonating a Treasury agent to collect the cash.

The Shelby Township Police in Michigan prioritised the case as soon as they learnt the elderly victims were scammed.

The investigation revealed that Patel had likely already sent the stolen money to his hometown in India while trying to scam other victims, the police said.

Patel is also being investigated in two other scams involving elderly people. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on him.

A detainer is an official request from ICE to a local or state law enforcement agency. This allows ICE to assume custody of the individual for possible immigration enforcement actions, including deportation proceedings.

Patel was taken into custody in Toledo, Ohio, and later extradited to Michigan.

Patel had a court hearing on May 5, where the judge set his bond at $1,00,000 (approximately Rs 83 lakh), requiring cash or a surety to be released.

4TH INDIAN STUDENT HELD IN US IN PAST 3 WEEKS

Patel's arrest for allegedly duping senior citizens follows three similar incidents in the past three weeks, in which Indian students in the US were arrested for duping senior citizens.

Earlier this month, Kishan Kumar Singh was arrested for allegedly trying to swindle money from a 78-year-old woman by impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Last month, two Indian students were held for allegedly posing as government agents and extorting gold and money from an elderly individual.

The arrests were made in the wake of an FBI warning after scammers posing as US government officials targeting American citizens, mostly elderly people, came to light, which had also forced police across the country to issue warnings against such fake phone calls and messages.