On September 20, 2024, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office in Lowell, Wisconsin arrested 18-year-old Indian national Laxit Devendra Patel for facilitating a Social Security scam against a 61-year-old victim by posing as an officer with the Federal Trade Commission. The victim was nearly defrauded out of $81,000 from their bank account on the grounds that Patel would give them “a new Social Security Number and bank account” after their existing ones were “compromised.”
Patel is currently held on a $500,000 cash bond and charged with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit theft by false representation. These carry a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison and $510,000 in fines.
That 18 year old needs a nice private cell in maximum security, to keep him safe from a bouquet of flowers and a cellmate singing here comes the bride.
It is so sad that a 61 year old woman did not know that you don’t get a new SSN. I mean, we all have access to all the info in the world in an instant. And I don’t want to hear about being elderly because 61 is not elderly. I have a 89 year old neighbor sharper than I am. All she had to do was call the real SSA or Google what the FTC does. I remember my first IRS scammer in 2008. I was unsure when I received the message so I called the real IRS and spoke to an agent who was very nice and helpful. That is really all it takes.
I wonder how such a young Indian guy (practically, almost a boy) managed to make it to the US to scam people? He must have been here legally with his parents who work here, I’d assume?
