Pakistani man jailed for 14 years in US in fraud case

Washington: A 52-year-old Pakistani national has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in the US state of Georgia for his role in a fraud conspiracy that deceived an elderly victim into surrendering gold and cash after scammers posed as federal agents.

Javed Ashiq, a resident of Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 168 months in prison and ordered to pay $886,799.84 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced Wednesday.

US District Judge Dudley H. Bowen also imposed three years of supervised release following Ashiq's prison term.

Federal prosecutors said Ashiq would be processed for deportation after completing his sentence.

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

According to court documents and testimony, Ashiq worked as a courier for a criminal conspiracy between July and August 2024, collecting gold bars and cash from an elderly victim and delivering them to other members of the operation.

The conspirators convinced the victim that their identity had been stolen and was being used for fraudulent activities.

To make the deception appear credible, members of the group impersonated federal agents from the Federal Trade Commission, a US government agency responsible for consumer protection.

They persuaded the victim to purchase cryptocurrency and gold, claiming the transactions were necessary to safeguard the victim's assets.

Once the purchases were completed, Ashiq collected the assets and transferred them to his co-conspirators, leaving the victim without the money or valuables.

Prosecutors said the scheme exploited the victim's fear of identity theft and trust in federal authorities.

"This case highlights the ruthless tactics scammers use to exploit senior citizens, including impersonating the very agencies meant to protect them," said US Attorney Margaret E. 'Meg' Heap.

The FBI said the case demonstrated how criminal networks use deception and government impersonation to target vulnerable people.

"Defrauding an elderly victim of their life savings through deception and impersonation is reprehensible," said Matthew Ploskunak, supervisory senior resident agent of the FBI's Atlanta office in Augusta.

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