ITHACA, NY (607NewsNow) – A New Jersey man is accused of scamming someone out of $500,000 in Tompkins County.
On October 8, State Police arrested Akash Thakkar, of Hiawatha, NJ, following a 15-month investigation.
The 41-year-old allegedly convinced an individual to purchase $250,000 worth of gold bars in June and August of 2024 and turn them over to a courier to “protect their assets.”
Troopers say the man who picked up the gold bars in Tompkins County in August 2024 was Thakkar.
On September 24, the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office presented its case to a Grand Jury, which decided to indict Thakkar for second-degree grand larceny, a felony.
Thakkar was processed at the State Police barracks in Ithaca and turned over to the Tompkins County Jail for arraignment.
The NYSP is asking the public to inform family members of scams. In the assets/courier scam, commonly aimed at senior citizens, the scammer contacts a victim by phone, asking to confirm if the victim recently made a large purchase on Amazon. When the victim replies no, the caller tells the victim that their identity and social security number have been stolen.
The victim is typically transferred to another person who claims to be from a credit union or a bank and advises the victim to withdraw their money or purchase gold bars for “safekeeping,” after which a courier will come to collect the money.
Contact your local police agency immediately if you suspect you’re the target of a scam.
