NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Mobile, AL, September 6, 2026 — An Indian national who had been living in Georgia has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a sprawling fraud operation that persuaded victims in multiple states to convert their savings into gold and cryptocurrency after convincing them their financial accounts had been compromised.
Pradeep Patel, 33, pleaded guilty Aug. 18 in U.S. District Court in Mobile, Alabama, in connection with a scheme that prosecutors say targeted a couple in Fairhope, Alabama. Under his written plea agreement, Patel also accepted responsibility for losses connected to victims in South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee, bringing the total loss attributed to the schemes to more than $1.5 million.
Court records indicate Patel is originally from India and had been living in Georgia after overstaying his visa.
The Alabama scheme began in August 2025 when a Fairhope woman received a pop-up message on her iPad warning that her Apple account had been compromised. She called a number provided in the message and spoke with someone identifying himself as “Scott Gibson,” according to court documents.
She was then transferred to another man who called himself “Robin Stall” and claimed to be a representative of Regions Bank. The purported bank representative told the woman hackers were attempting to steal money from her account and warned her not to discuss the matter with employees at her local branch because a bank insider supposedly was involved.
Over several days, the couple followed instructions to withdraw large sums of money in what they believed was an effort to protect their savings. They initially withdrew $12,500 and deposited it into a Bitcoin ATM, followed by additional withdrawals totaling more than $32,000, according to the indictment.
The fraud then shifted to gold.
The couple was directed to wire approximately $250,000 to a Texas bullion dealer to purchase gold. Patel admitted that he drove from Georgia to the couple’s Fairhope home and collected gold bars they had purchased, according to his plea agreement.
Federal prosecutors have also charged Saurav Sharma, a Nepal native, in connection with the Fairhope scheme. Prosecutors allege Sharma separately collected additional gold from the couple. Sharma, who was arrested in Georgia in June after previously being at large, pleaded not guilty, and the allegations against him remain pending.
Patel’s admitted involvement, however, extended well beyond Alabama.
According to his plea agreement, he agreed to pay restitution connected to a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, couple who lost $294,527 in March 2025. In that case, the husband was contacted by scammers who claimed there was suspicious activity involving child pornography associated with his Apple account.
The couple sent cryptocurrency to someone they believed represented Apple and also purchased gold. Patel admitted acting as one of the couriers who collected the gold.
Another Mount Pleasant victim turned over $121,115 worth of gold coins to Patel, according to the plea agreement.
Patel also accepted responsibility for $81,029 in gold taken from a victim in Panama City, Florida, and $202,065 in gold obtained from a victim in Byrdstown, Tennessee.
His written plea agreement places the combined losses associated with the fraudulent schemes at more than $1.5 million. The publicly reported restitution amounts for the specifically identified victims represent only part of that total.
Federal investigators had linked Patel to other similar fraud activity even before his guilty plea. In the initial Fairhope investigation, authorities said an individual arrested in Mississippi in connection with a comparable scam told FBI agents that Patel had taught him how to carry out the scheme. That Mississippi matter is separate from the four-state losses detailed in Patel’s plea agreement.
The case reflects a broader form of impersonation fraud in which scammers convince victims that their bank, technology or government accounts have been compromised and then instruct them to move their money into cryptocurrency, cash or precious metals for supposed safekeeping. Couriers are sometimes dispatched directly to victims’ homes to retrieve cash or gold.
Patel originally pleaded not guilty in March and was ordered detained pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bradley Murray. He subsequently changed his plea to guilty.
He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to recommend leniency, although the ultimate sentence will be determined by the court under federal sentencing guidelines.
Patel is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 19.
Cover photo credit: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
