Syed M Makki, a 38-year-old Indian man from Illinois, was sentenced to 15.5 years in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in a gold scam that targeted elderly victims. Gold scams are common in the United States, with scammers convincing seniors that they must use their savings to buy gold and turn it over to the government because their assets are not safe in a bank. Scammers often sell the gold to jewelry stores and leave no trace of the proceeds of crime.U.S. District Judge Greg Kays also ordered Makki to pay $4,754,000 in restitution, ordered forfeiture of the gold bars, and entered a money judgmentAccording to the Justice Department, Markey acted as a courier and his role was limited to collecting gold bars and cash from victims across the country and transporting them to co-conspirators. On March 25 and 26, 2024, Makki recovered 16 gold bars, each weighing 1 kilogram and worth more than $1 million, from victims in Colorado and Kansas City. On March 27, 2024, he transported gold bars to Illinois and handed them over to co-conspirators upon arrest.Scams start with “malware”From 2023 to March 31, 2024, conspirators placed malware on computers where people had their phone numbers. When victims called, they falsely claimed to be “Microsoft” employees, bank officials, government employees and law enforcement officials. The conspirators led the elderly victims to believe that their identities had been compromised and that their money was not safe in banks. All victims ranged in age from 61 to 80 years old.Scammers have victims liquidate bank and retirement accounts and use the proceeds to purchase gold bullion in the form of bars or coins. When the gold was delivered to the victim’s home, the conspirators instructed the victim to provide the gold to a co-conspirator like Markey for “safekeeping.”Scammers used to ask victims to deposit the gold and send it to the “Ministry of Justice” in the name of a specific person to minimize the victim’s suspicion. Markey and others picked up the gold or cash and shipped it across state lines to co-conspirators.
