Jury Convicts Indian National in $150 Million Elder Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Austin, Texas, convicted an Indian national on Monday for his role in a scheme that scammed elderly Americans out of more than $150 million in cash and gold.

Bhavesh Kumar Thakkar, 45, was found guilty on two counts tied to wire fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. He became the fourth defendant convicted in the case. Thakkar was living in the United States on a spousal visa and took part in the operation from at least September 2022 through September 2025.

The scheme ran out of call centers in India. Scammers there worked the phones, and Thakkar handled the money on the American end. He collected the cash and gold taken from victims, then moved it along. {snip}

Prosecutors say Thakkar personally took in some of those funds from couriers and was connected to more than $150 million in fraud money pulled from seniors across the country.

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