冒充政府官员骗走8名长者近190万美元现金与黄金，印度籍主犯被判9年监禁
美国司法部缅因区联邦检察官办公室宣布，印度籍男子 Prakashkumar Prajapati 于2026年11月5日在缅因州坎伯兰县的 Portland 联邦法院被判处9年监禁。现年47岁的 Prajapati 被控共谋实施电信诈骗，首席联邦地区法官 Lance E. Walker 主持量刑，并判令他向受害者赔偿 1,897,386 美元。Prajapati 已于2026年1月15日认罪。
根据法庭记录，Prajapati 与同伙在多个州合谋诈骗了至少8名受害者。诈骗分子打电话冒充政府官员，指示受害者提取现金、购买黄金，交给「政府」保管；随后他们安排受害者与假冒的政府人员见面，交出现金和黄金。
Prajapati 指使同案被告 Bharat Awasarmol 去向受害者收取黄金和现金。Awasarmol 在缅因州向一名受害者收取包裹时被 FBI 探员当场拦截——那名受害者被一名冒充联邦贸易委员会（FTC）雇员的人指示，带着金条前来见面交货。
除缅因州外，这伙人还从新罕布什尔州、纽约州、新泽西州和弗吉尼亚州的另外7名受害者手中骗取现金和黄金，手法都是冒充政府官员。检方认定，Prajapati 一共给受害者造成 1,897,386 美元损失。
同案的 Awasarmol 已于2025年12月9日认罪，其电信诈骗共谋罪最高可判20年监禁，另有虚假陈述罪最高可判5年，并各可并处最高25万美元罚款；他的量刑定于2027年1月进行。此案由联邦调查局（FBI）调查。
司法部表示，2025年7月至2026年7月间，该部对涉嫌窃取长者钱财的712名被告采取了近350项刑事与民事执法行动，涉案金额超过48亿美元、受害者超过70万人；遭遇长者诈骗可拨打全国长者诈骗热线 833-FRAUD-11 求助。（来源：美国司法部缅因区联邦检察官办公室）
Indian National Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Elder Fraud Scheme That Took Nearly $1.9 Million in Cash and Gold
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine announced that Prakashkumar Prajapati, an Indian national, was sentenced on November 5, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Portland, in Cumberland County, Maine, to nine years in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud. Chief U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker imposed the sentence and ordered Prajapati, 47, to pay $1,897,386 in restitution. He had pleaded guilty on January 15, 2026.
According to court records, Prajapati conspired with others in a multi-state scheme to defraud at least eight victims in five states, including Maine. Victims received telephone calls from individuals posing as government officials. The imposters instructed victims to withdraw cash and purchase gold to turn over to the government for safekeeping, and then arranged for victims to meet fake government agents to hand over the cash and gold.
As part of the conspiracy, Prajapati directed his co-defendant Bharat Awasarmol to collect gold and cash from victims. Awasarmol was intercepted when FBI agents caught him accepting a package from a victim in Maine. That victim had been instructed by an individual posing as an employee of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to meet Awasarmol and provide him with gold bars.
Prajapati and his coconspirators also collected cash and gold from seven additional victims in New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, all of whom had been deceived by individuals posing as government officials. In total, Prajapati caused $1,897,386 in losses to the victims.
Awasarmol pleaded guilty on December 9, 2025, and faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the wire fraud conspiracy charge, and up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on a false statement charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January 2027. The FBI investigated the case.
The Department of Justice says that between July 2025 and July 2026 it pursued nearly 350 criminal and civil enforcement actions against 712 defendants charged with, or alleged to have, stolen over $4.8 billion from over 700,000 older victims. Anyone who believes they or someone they know has been a victim of elder fraud can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-FRAUD-11. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine)
来源：美国司法部缅因区联邦检察官办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国司法部大楼（GSM固定图库）。APK 摄，CC BY 4.0。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (GSM file photo). By APK, CC BY 4.0.
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