WESTFIELD, Ind. — An Illinois man is wanted by federal authorities for allegedly impersonating an FBI agent to scam elderly Hoosiers out of cash, retirement savings and gold bars.
Abdul Mohammed, 31, of Des Plaines, Illinois, has been charged by a federal grand jury with three counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This comes after he and a group of co-conspirators devised a scheme to scam elderly victims out of tens of thousands of dollars.
The federal indictment details how Mohammed and his group would contact elderly Hoosiers and claim to be a government agent. The conspirators reportedly told the victims their information had been compromised in some way and they needed to provide money to federal officials for safekeeping.
“The conspirators instructed victims to convert their savings and retirement accounts to cash or gold bars, and to provide those funds to law enforcement for ‘protection’,” federal officials said.
In one instance, an elderly victim told police she kept getting unsolicited phone calls, texts and emails from someone claiming to “Agent Roy” with the FBI. The scammer told the victim his computer had been hacked and that his personal info was stolen.
“Agent Roy” reportedly told the victim he’d been implicated in a drug crime and instructed the victim to withdraw $80,000 from his retirement account. The scammer then told the victim to convert the money into gold bars, saying the funds would otherwise be frozen by the IRS.
Police said that a member of the conspiracy, acting as “Agent Roy,” then met up with the victim at a Meijer parking lot in Westfield to collect the bars. However, the scamming did not stop there.
The victim told police that he soon received a letter from “Officer Jason Roy” that bore the Department of Justice seal. The document told the victim he had to again withdraw money and give it to FBI agents.
“If . . . at any point of time you deny to follow our instructions or disclose this information to anyone all your accounts will be frozen,” the letter read.
A few weeks later, Mohammed reportedly met up with the victim in the same Meijer parking lot in an attempt to collect another $45,000 in cash.
The FBI is now investigating the case. There is an outstanding warrant for Mohammed’s arrest following his federal indictment. If convicted, he could face up to 60 years in federal prison.
“We encourage Mr. Mohammed to contact the FBI immediately to arrange for his safe surrender to answer the charges against him,” US District Attorney Zachary Myers said.
Anyone with information on Mohammed’s scams or his current location is being asked to immediately contact the FBI by calling (317) 595-4000 or visiting FBI.gov/tips. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-TIPS.
