OCALA, Fla. — An Ocala man is facing a federal charge after prosecutors say he posed as an officer and collected gold coins from a victim who had been told their identity was stolen.
Manojkumar N. Desai, 44, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to the indictment and evidence presented in court, Desai worked with others in a scheme that ran from at least April through June 5.
Prosecutors say one conspirator called the victim while pretending to be a U.S. Treasury Department agent. The caller claimed the victim’s identity had been stolen and instructed them to withdraw money from their bank accounts.
The victim was directed to hand over cash, wire money and buy gold coins to give to an “officer” for safekeeping, authorities said.
On May 21, Desai allegedly posed as that officer and collected the coins. Prosecutors say he then directed another person to sell some of them and deposit $12,873 into a joint bank account.
The following week, Desai allegedly wired $10,000 from that account to another conspirator.
Federal prosecutors are seeking $370,198.40 in forfeiture. Authorities also seized $55,970 in cash from Desai’s home in June.
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