INDIANAPOLIS — An Illinois man has been indicted by a grand jury for allegedly pretending to be a government agent to get seniors to turn over hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement savings.
The Department of Justice says Abdul Mohammed, 31, would tell seniors they had to turn their savings and retirement accounts into cash or gold bars to give law enforcement for "protection."
One victim told police someone posing as "Agent Roy" with the FBI told them they had to withdraw $80,000 from their savings or it would be frozen by the IRS after a fake computer hack. Someone pretending to be "Agent Roy" met the victim in the parking lot of a Meijer in Westfield to collect the gold bars.
Even after handing over the gold, the victim kept getting calls that his money wasn't safe. One document the victim received said, “If . . . at any point of time you deny to follow our instructions or disclose this information to anyone all your accounts will be frozen.”
Police say Mohammed met the victim again in the same Meijer parking lot to try and get another $45,000 in cash.
“There is an outstanding warrant for the arrest of Abdul Mohammed, a resident of Des Plaines, Illinois, following a federal indictment alleging his involvement in a scheme to defraud elderly victims through false claims that federal law enforcement agencies were seeking to keep their money safe,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “We encourage Mr. Mohammed to contact the FBI immediately to arrange for his safe surrender to answer the charges against him. Mr. Mohammed, or anyone with information on his whereabouts, should contact the FBI at 317-595-4000 or FBI.gov/tips.”
What to do if you've been scammed
Millions of Americans are scammed every year. The FTC receives about 2.6 million fraud reports a year, and many people don't report the crime.
If you have been scammed, you aren't helpless. The FTC has a guide for anyone who has been a victim.
The district attorney's office has a specialized team for seniors who have been targeted by scammers.
Also keep an eye on the FTC's consumer alerts to get warned about new scams criminals are trying.
