CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A man was arrested after Cherokee deputies said he scammed an elderly woman out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Deputies said the scam started when an 80-year-old resident of Cherokee County received a call from someone claiming to be with Amazon, calling about an iPhone purchase.
The caller then told the woman that someone had stolen her identity and she needed to take steps to ensure that her finances were secure.
The woman then spoke with someone claiming to be with the United States Treasury Department, who convinced the woman to buy three gift cards totaling $1,500 and then said she would need to wire $50,000 to a bank in New York.
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After the wire transfer, the woman was then asked to purchase $100,000 worth of gold to give to an associate, before she was asked to transfer $200,000 from an annuity to her checking account so she could buy even more gold.
The woman then told a family member all that was happening to her and the family member called the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
On April 26, deputies arrested 27-year-old Parth Patel from Ontario, Canada, and charged him with felony criminal attempt and conspiracy to commit a crime.
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He bonded out of Cherokee Adult Detention Center on Thursday morning on a $16,700 bond.
Detectives believe Patel was a lower-level associate in a larger scheme where the main suspect or suspects live in India and the United Kingdom.
The department reminded citizens that they can call 911 anytime they are dealing with someone over the phone or the internet who may be scamming them.
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