21-year-old Indian national arrested as money mule in $7.5 million elder fraud scheme
Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, a 21-year-old Indian national, was detained in Canada and faces U.S. charges for acting as a money mule in a fraud that stole about $7.5 million from elderly victims.
The U.S. Justice Department charged Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, a 21-year-old Indian national from Gujarat residing in Jersey City, with wire fraud, money laundering and related conspiracies for serving as a money mule in a multi-state fraud targeting seniors. According to the criminal complaint, the scheme convinced victims to liquidate assets into cash, gold or gift cards after falsely claiming their accounts were compromised.
Goswami allegedly collected cash and gold from nine victims aged 59 to 87, contributing to losses estimated at $7.56 million. He opened a Bank of America account and deposited more than $90,000 in cash from August 2025 to April 2026, which investigators linked to his role. After a court appearance on August 17, 2026, he crossed into Canada and was detained at Toronto Pearson on August 18, leading to a provisional arrest and extradition request.
The investigation involved the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, state police, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement partners. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K McGuire is handling the prosecution.
Why it matters
Elderly fraud schemes exploit vulnerable populations and involve cross-border criminal networks.
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