Pakistani National Sentenced to 14 Years in US for Fraud Scheme Targeting Elderly Victim

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 said.

US District Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered Ashiq to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence. Federal prosecutors said they would process him for deportation after he served his term. The US federal prison system does not provide parole.

According to court documents and testimony, Ashiq acted as a courier for the criminal conspiracy between July and August 2024. He collected gold bars and cash from an elderly victim and delivered the assets to other members of the group.

Prosecutors said the conspirators contacted the victim and falsely claimed that the person's identity had been stolen and was being used in fraudulent activities.

To make the deception appear legitimate, group members allegedly posed as officials from the Federal Trade Commission, a US agency responsible for consumer protection. They instructed the victim to purchase cryptocurrency and gold, claiming the transactions were necessary to protect their assets.

After the purchases, Ashiq collected the cash and valuables and transferred them to other members of the conspiracy, leaving the victim without the funds and assets.

Prosecutors said the scheme exploited the victim's concerns about identity theft and trust in government authorities.

US Attorney Margaret E. "Meg" Heap said the case demonstrated how fraudsters use government impersonation and other deceptive tactics to exploit elderly people.

Matthew Ploskunak, supervisory senior resident agent of the FBI's Atlanta office in Augusta, said targeting an elderly victim's life savings through deception and impersonation was particularly serious.

Federal authorities investigated the case as part of efforts to combat fraud schemes that use impersonation to target vulnerable victims.