Scam artist arrested for attempting to steal $495k from elderly Gainesville woman, deputies say

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - The FBI and Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies collaborated in arresting a man who attempted to steal over $495,000 worth of gold from an elderly woman.

According to the arrest report for Gurpinder Singh, 20, an Indian national, he flew from California late May to deprive a woman of property and participate in a scheme, the sheriff’s office reports.

She told FBI and IRS agents she received an email from someone claiming an issue with her credit card.

The message then said she needed to use the money in her account to purchase gold bars because her account and SSN had been ‘compromised.’

The woman purchased over $101,000 worth of gold from the Coin and Jewelry Gallery, reports say. Agents contacted the woman just before the scammers tried to convince her she needed to pay $400,000 more in gold to protect her money and SSN.

Authorities created a plan to have a deliverer pickup the woman’s money and capture a culprit. Singh arrived at a Chevron on 12200 SW Archer Rd. to complete the transaction with the woman. He was arrested Sunday afternoon and is being held in the county jail without bond.

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