GAITHERSBURG, Md. — A 26-year-old New York man has been arrested in connection with a sophisticated gold bar scam that defrauded an elderly Montgomery County woman and her daughter of more than $2.3 million, authorities announced Thursday.
Yash Shah of Baldwin, N.Y., is accused of acting as a courier in the scam, which began in February 2023 when the victims — an 88-year-old woman and her 61-year-old daughter — were contacted by someone claiming to be from the Department of Justice. The scammer alleged that their bank accounts were linked to criminal activities, including child pornography, human trafficking, and illegal gambling, and directed them to transfer their assets into cryptocurrency and gold bars.
Over five months, the victims complied, delivering multiple shipments of gold bars. Shah was allegedly involved in receiving one of those deliveries, valued at over $83,000.
Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Financial Crimes Section, working with New York authorities, identified Shah as a suspect and secured a warrant for his arrest. He was apprehended in New York and is currently being held in Nassau County, awaiting extradition to Maryland.
This case marks the first reported instance of this type of government-imposter gold bar scam in Montgomery County, and the investigation is ongoing.
