2 people arrested in Colorado, accused of gold bullion fraud in Douglas County

As part of an operation dubbed “Operation I Love Gold,” detectives in Douglas County arrested two men accused of running a scam in which they instructed the victim to purchase gold bars and then deliver them to the suspects. The suspects were arrested in a parking lot near I-25 and Castle Pines Parkway on May 23 when they showed up to deliver what they believed were the gold bars.

According to investigators, they were alerted to the crime by the 76-year-old victim, who reported receiving a pop-up message on her iPad on March 12. After the message appeared and prompted her to call a phone number, she was unable to use her iPad.

When she called the phone number, she was told that her identity and accounts had been compromised. She was transferred to the “bank’s fraud department” and spoke to “Agent Richard Parker, Badge #GS7408.”

She told police that this person had a thick accent. This person told her that fake checks had been written to porn sites. He also said that there was a messaging blackout and that she could not talk to anyone about the incident, including her husband.

He then instructed the victim to withdraw money from her account to buy gold bars. He told her the gold bars would be delivered to her bank safe deposit box.

During the course of the investigation, investigators worked closely with the victim, gathering information and building a case against the suspects. When the two suspects came to collect the gold bars, they were arrested by investigators from the Financial Crimes Unit and the IMPACT team.

The suspects have been identified as Anil Kumar Dhiman, 34, and Punit Punit, 30. The charges include theft and crimes against vulnerable persons. Their bail has been set at $10,000 each.

“No one can come to Douglas County, prey on our elderly residents, steal their life savings and get away with it. The lead investigator in this case is astute and highly focused to get these suspects off the streets to protect our most vulnerable residents,” Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly said in a statement.