A 35-year-old man accused of helping run a gold scam that drained more than $250 million from senior citizens, including victims in Tarrant County, was arrested while trying to flee the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport and has since been booked into the Tarrant County Jail. Muzamil Ahmed faces charges of financial abuse of the elderly, money laundering and engaging in organized crime for theft, and he is currently held with no bond set.
Ahmed was detained by Port Authority police at JFK on outstanding Tarrant County arrest warrants before being extradited back to Texas this month, according to WFAA. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted him on August 28 on two counts of financial abuse of the elderly, and prosecutors say he operated out of New Jersey while allegedly building shell corporations to launder stolen money, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He is accused of swindling one elderly Tarrant County resident out of between $30,000 and $150,000, and allegedly took money or gold from more than 35 other people. Ahmed’s attorney, Michael Garcia, was unavailable for comment on Friday.
How the Scheme Targeted Seniors
According to the Star-Telegram, scammers posing as bank representatives or federal agents told victims that their bank accounts, Social Security numbers, or other personal information had been compromised, then instructed them to withdraw their savings and buy gold or bitcoin, or simply hold onto cash. Couriers posing as federal agents then took possession of the victims’ gold or cash in person. Authorities say the scam affected more than 200 people and targeted senior citizens in Tarrant County and elsewhere in the United States.
Prosecutors say Ahmed changed gold and cash into cryptocurrency and funneled proceeds through a Florida gold refinery before sending money out of the country. Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells did not mince words in announcing the case, saying, “We are dismantling your network,” and warning that suspects “will face justice in Tarrant County.”
A Sprawling Network Stretching Overseas
The gold fraud ring at the center of Ahmed’s case has been operating since 2018, with call centers based overseas in India initiating contact with American seniors, Sorrells reported in April, according to KERA News. Investigators describe a layered operation: overseas callers use government impersonation and panic tactics to reach victims, domestic couriers collect the physical gold or cash, local jewelry storefronts melt the bullion down to erase its origin, and higher-level operators like Ahmed move the profits through shell companies, refineries and cryptocurrency…