Telugu-Origin Man Arrested in USA For $55 Million Fraud
During the raids, investigators seized large quantities of gold and cash, which were taken away as evidence
Hyderabad: A Telugu-origin man has been arrested by the Collin county sheriff’s office in Texas for allegedly being part of a $55-million financial fraud case that targeted elderly residents. Police linked the arrest of Radhakrishna Yerramneni, 46, to simultaneous raids on two jewellery businesses in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area after a year-long investigation into the fraud that caused a loss of more than `505 crore.
The raids were carried out on Thursday at Tilak Jewellers in Irving and Saima Jewellers in Frisco, both in Texas. Authorities said that the action was the result of a probe into the network that cheated senior citizens across Collin county and other parts of Texas. According to local news reports, the investigation involved cooperation between local, state and federal agencies.
Officials believe that the jewellery stores were used to handle gold obtained through fraud schemes that preyed on elderly people. During the raids, investigators seized large quantities of gold and cash, which were taken away as evidence.
Apart from Radhakrishna, the authorities arrested Pranjal Jigneshkumar Patel, Simarjeet Singh Gill, Satish Amrutlal Kumar Patel, and Arpit Desai. Charges for them include financial exploitation of the elderly and large-scale theft. Some cases are before a grand jury, and others are being reviewed under organised crime laws.
According to court details, Radhakrishna was arrested on October 23 last, and booked with two counts of ‘engaging in organised criminal activity’ and one count of ‘financial abuse of elderly’. Radhakrishna had been charged with $2 million each as a bail amount, totalling $4 million (more than `36.75 crore) for his final bail.
Collin county sheriff Jim Skinner, speaking with local media, said that anyone trying to cheat residents, especially senior citizens, would be tracked down. He said that crimes involving elderly victims are often hard to solve because many victims delay reporting due to fear, shame, or confusion.
Authorities say around 200 senior citizens, all above the age of 65, were affected in Collin county alone. While fraudsters have scammed people of more than $55 million across Texas, losses in Collin county alone are estimated to be over $7 million (nearly `65 crore).
So far, more than $4,00,000 has been returned to victims, and officials expect more money to be recovered after the seized gold and assets are sold. Authorities are investigating the scam.