Indian national convicted in $150 million elder fraud scheme by Texas jury

A federal jury in Austin, Texas, convicted Bhavesh Kumar Thakkar, a 45-year-old Indian national residing in the United States on a spousal visa, on two counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors said Thakkar was the American conduit for a fraud operation that stole over $150 million in cash and gold from senior citizens across the country between September 2022 and September 2025. The scheme was run from call centers in India, where operators phoned victims, pretended to be Treasury or other officials, and arranged couriers to collect the money or gold.

Thakkar received the funds, shipped them to Los Angeles and New York, and then helped launder them overseas. Victims included a man in Granite Shoals who lost $180,000 and a Fort Worth woman who handed over $30,000. Two co-defendants, Dhruv Rajeshbhai Mangukiya and Kishan Rajeshkumar Patel, have already been sentenced, while Rakesh Barot pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing; Thakkar’s sentencing is pending. The Justice Department highlighted the conviction as part of a wider effort to target foreign nationals who commit crimes on U.S. soil.