Man accused of scamming victims in several states to convert cash to gold

Police say that a man scammed an elderly woman in Bucks County out of more than $100,000 and then went on to try and scam other victims in other states.

While law enforcement officials were hunting for him in Pennsylvania, they say he struck again in Maine and that time police were waiting.

Gautam Harkhani, 35, is from Texas and officials said that he is behind a scam that worked to convince his victims in several states that they were in trouble with the law.

Then, Harkhani told the victim that in order to get their name cleared, they needed to convert cash to gold and hand it over to him, officials said.

Buckingham Township Detective James Crusemire told NBC10 that he’s seen multiple victims in last few months turn over cash or gold to strangers thinking they were giving to someone who could be trusted.

In one case, an elderly woman in Bucks County was told to go to her bank and withdraw more than $100,000 after she was sent emails that looked like they came from the federal government, officials reported.

But, Detective Crusemire explained that those emails were phony.

The woman in this case feared persecution so she did what she was told and even ignored warnings from bank employees, according to officials.

After getting the money, the woman was told to convert it into gold coins, detectives explained.

Then, she went to a nearby grocery store and turned the coins over to a man, officials said.

Police said that, luckily, the entire exchange was caught on camera.

The man could be seen using a rental car which was traced back to Harkhani, investigators said.

Harkhani would leave Bucks County, but investigators in Lincoln County, Maine, had been alerted to a similar case and were ready.

Officials in Maine posed as the victim in that case and ultimately arrested Harkhani on Nov. 21.

He was charged with theft by deception and criminal conspiracy, officials said. He is being held at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, Maine, pending a $50,000 cash bail.

Police think that Harkhani may be working with others and investigators in Maine and Pennsylvania want to know if other have come into contact with him.

If you have any information on Harkhani, please contact Lincoln County Detective Jared Mitkus at 207-882-7332 or by email jmitkus@lincolnso.me.

Meanwhile, Crusemire says that victims are so convinced that they’re doing the right thing that it’s not until after they turn over the money or gold that they realize they should have called police first.

Scammers are able to send documents and emails that look like they really come from federal officials, but a closer look at the email address that sent the message can help.

Police want to urge everyone to remember that they will never ask for money over the phone or through emails so never turn over cash, gift cards or gold to strangers.