Additional Coverage:
- A 77-year-old lost $390,000 of his retirement savings after picking up a scam call. Now he wants to help others. (businessinsider.com)
Jeffrey Maas, a 77-year-old retiree from West Orange, New Jersey, recently fell victim to a sophisticated scam that drained $390,000-about half of his life savings. Maas and his wife had envisioned using their nest egg to enjoy European travels, cruises, and to support their children and grandchildren financially. Unfortunately, those plans have been upended by a cybercrime operation that involved multiple perpetrators and led Maas to file a civil lawsuit seeking justice.
The ordeal began in June 2024 when Maas received a fraudulent email claiming he had been charged $691.05 for Norton Antivirus identity theft protection. Concerned but unaware, Maas called the helpline number provided, only to speak with a man identifying himself as Jason Green, who falsely claimed to be a PayPal agent. Green convinced Maas to provide bank details and gained remote access to his computer.
From there, the scam intensified. Green fabricated a story about accidentally depositing $300,000 into Maas’s checking account and pressured him to resolve the error quickly to avoid penalties from the IRS.
A second scammer advised Maas to purchase gold coins as a workaround. Following these instructions, Maas wired $300,000 to a precious metals dealer in Clifton, New Jersey, called American Coin and Stamp Co., and later handed over the gold to a stranger who arrived to collect it.
The scam did not end there. Maas was led to believe he was owed a $10,000 compensation, which turned out to be another ruse involving a supposed $100,000 credit.
Again, Maas withdrew $90,000 to buy more gold, which was collected by another individual. Throughout these transactions, Maas was kept on open phone lines with the scammers, and according to his lawsuit, PNC Bank employees failed to question or intervene despite clear warning signs.
The fallout has been severe. Maas experienced extreme stress resulting in multiple hospitalizations and now faces a drastically altered retirement.
He is suing PNC Bank, American Coin and Stamp Co., and an individual named Jaynesh Patel, who was arrested and charged in connection with the scam. Maas alleges negligence and conspiracy on the part of the defendants, who he claims facilitated the fraud by failing to exercise proper safeguards.
American Coin’s owner denies wrongdoing and describes the lawsuit as “absurd,” while PNC has declined to comment due to ongoing litigation. Maas’s attorney emphasizes the responsibility of financial institutions and related businesses in preventing such scams, especially those targeting seniors.
Despite his losses and anguish, Maas hopes that sharing his story will raise awareness about phishing and other exploitative crimes. “Of course, my wife yelled at me, but she and my family have been super about what happened,” Maas said.
“I was trying to do the right thing.” His message is clear: vigilance is crucial, and no one should feel isolated if they fall prey to these increasingly sophisticated scams.