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CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. () — The Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) arrested a man connected to a fraud scheme that cost an elderly victim more than $500k.
20-year-old Pranavkumar Baria was arrested Aug. 14 and charged with theft by deception, elder abuse and trafficking an elder person. He was denied bond.
The CCPD urges other potential victims to come forward.
CCPD Police Chief Jeff Hadley said, “Many times, victims of scams will feel embarrassed and ashamed when they realize that they’ve been conned out of substantial amounts of money.
They also may be fearful. In this case, at least one of the suspects – a complete stranger — knew the victim’s address and was bold enough to show up to their house. The sophistication of this scam is one reason that we believe there may be other victims. Please, do not hesitate to come forward.”
Barai called the victim and claimed to be a part of the victim’s financial institution, calming the victim’s bank account had been hacked. The suspect arranged for money transfers and the transfer of precious metals, CCPD said.
The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with additional information should contact CCPD.