On June 11, 2025, the Lincoln Police Department in Nebraska arrested 29-year-old Riverside, California resident Chiragkumar Padsala for facilitating a PayPal refund scam, where:
- The scammers send fraudulent emails under the guise of PayPal, falsely claiming their victims, in this case, a 78-year-old male, were charged $1,000 for an unspecified product.
- Once the victim calls their call center, the scammers will gain remote access to their victim’s device and falsely claim they received a refund of $100,000.
- In order to “avoid paying taxes,” the victim will be asked to purchase $98,000 in gold bars using a check, then hand the gold off to a designated courier or money mule.
- Once the gold is collected, the scammers will demand another $100,000 due to a “computer error.”
Padsala is currently being held in the Lancaster County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond and charged with unlawful taking of over $5,000. This is a Class IIA felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.