Illinois Accused Scammer Gets Chocolate Coins Instead Of $700,000 In Gold
Hi it's immediate karma, party of one.
It's no secret that scammers will do absolutely anything these days. According to WOOD8, a widow was told that her Social Security funds were being used to fund terrorism and was directed to pay $700,000 in gold.
Before the widow could, Ben Soldaat, owner of Grand Rapids Coins, intervened before the Illinois-based scammer could go get the gold.
Smartly, Soldaat got the Kent County Sheriff's Office involved and the trap was set.
The lady had went to Soldaat's gold shop to buy the $700,000 worth of gold but Soldaat said something wasn't quite right and the lady "displayed urgency, confusion". The $700,000 was wired to Grand Rapids Coins, but Soldaat said it would take 3-5 business days to get there, which made her even more nervous.
So Soldaat contacted the Kent County Sheriff's Office after that and they visited the woman's home.
While they were there, she got a bunch of calls from "Eric", who she said had a very convincing voice. "Eric" kept asking if she was able to go to the gold store.
One of the participants in the scam, named Yug Chauhan, was sent to the outskirts of Rockford (by a person named “Bhawsh”) to collect the gold.
Game, Set, Match
Chauhan's alleged assignment was to take an Uber from a gas station to a doughnut shop near the gold store. That's where he was told to pick up a parcel from a 79-year-old woman.
That was actually an undercover detective for the Kent County Sheriff's Office.
So then, as Soldaat said:
The undercover agent dressed up like an older woman, came in and got a package of chocolate gold coins from us to deliver to the courier. I’m glad they did it like that. It was certainly quick thinking on their end.
Chauhan said he had never met "Bhawsh" and that they "solely spoke in Hindu during their calls" and mainly talked through WhatsApp.
So now Chauhan, knowing his boss or not, is facing 2 20-year felonies.
The lady thanked Soldaat for intervening.