- Satnam Singh, 26, is charged with theft by deception in an alleged gold courier scam.
- Singh is accused of driving from California to Kanab to collect $72,000 in gold.
- Police arrested Singh after posing as the victim to intercept the scam.
KANAB — A man who police say works for a criminal organization that attempts to steal money through what's known a "gold courier scam" has been charged.
Satnam Singh, 26, was charged Thursday in 6th District Court with theft by deception and engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, second-degree felonies; and having a fake ID card, a class C misdemeanor.
Charging documents state that on June 14, Singh "was the courier for a large scale financial scam and instructed to drive from California to Kane County to pick up $72,000 in gold from the victim. The defendant had a fake Arizona driver's license and is not a U.S. citizen."
A police booking affidavit further states that the investigation began June 9 when a Kanab resident, described as a senior citizen, called police to report that his wife was on her way to Las Vegas "to meet with what he believed to be a scammer" and that his wife was told to bring her passport, her identification and bank cards.
Police called the woman on the phone and convinced her to turn around.
When questioned, the woman said "that she had received a notice on her phone that her phone was infected and her banking accounts were in jeopardy," according to the affidavit. She called a number she was given and talked to "David."
"David convinced (the woman) to make four wire transfers of $25,000, $25,000, $15,000, and $15,000 between April 27 and May 6," the affidavit states.
She was then connected to a man, "Michael," who claimed he was with the FBI and would help her get her money back.
"Michael convinced (the woman) that her bank accounts were still in jeopardy and started telling (her) to remove money from her accounts and buy gold. On June 2, (she) purchased $95,059 worth of gold from a store in St. George," according to the affidavit.
She gave the gold to a courier that was sent to Kanab by Michael. On June 9, Michael tried to convince the woman to go Las Vegas.
Police then began contacting Michael using the woman's phone and posing as the woman.
"On June 12, Michael again asked (the woman) to empty her bank accounts and buy gold which he would keep safe for her. I (texting as the woman) told Michael that I had purchased $72,000 in gold coins and sent him a picture of the gold and a receipt. On June 13, Michael sent a courier to Kanab to pick up the gold," the affidavit states.
When the courier, Singh, arrived, he was arrested.
"Singh admitted to working with Michael and stated he drove from California to Kanab at Michael's instructions to pick up what he believed was gold. Singh stated that he was to do the job by two friends in California who know Michael. Singh knew that Michael was calling from Turkey and giving him directions," police wrote in their affidavit.
"This scam is called the gold courier scam. It is a scam that involves many people and usually originates in countries like this one in Turkey. They string the victims along making them believe that they are federal law enforcement and drain their bank accounts. This is a continuing criminal organization and often recruit(s) couriers from the same area as the scam originates," the affidavit states. "The criminal origination which (Singh) works for is very versed in obtaining fake phone numbers, addresses and identification."
