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A Brookfield man has been federally charged for scamming elderly victims.
U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling has shared that on August 12th, 41-year-old Ankurkumar Patel was formally charged with one count of Money Laundering Conspiracy and one count of Substantive Money Laundering for his role in a multi-state scheme targeting elderly victims.
The indictment states that Patel and others allegedly conspired to launder more than $1 million from victims, including one in Sheboygan.
The victim in Sheboygan was targeted through a Phantom Hacker Scam where Patel and his coconspirators posed as customer service agents at an unnamed company or governmental agency.
In Phantom Hacker Scams, suspects also pose as law enforcement agents and couriers who attempt to steal money from their victims, often in the form of cash, physical gold, or a bank transfer.
The indictment further alleges that Patel himself retrieved over $1 million from victims and then conspired to launder the money to other participants in the scam via anonymous transactions.
If convicted of both charges, Patel could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and be forced to pay up to $750,000 in fines.
This case was investigated by the FBI in Milwaukee, along with Homeland Security Investigations out of St. Louis, Missouri.
