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Gaurang Contractor, 38, a citizen of India living in Jersey City, NJ, tried to trick a Central Massachusetts woman into believing he was a DEA agent and she needed to convert her life savings into gold and give it to him for safekeeping, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Contractor contacted the woman in August 2022 using the alias of "Oscar White," a Drug Enforcement Agent, and he had horrible news: Drug dealers had stolen her identity and compromised her bank accounts, but there was a solution. She would need to withdraw $330,000 from her bank account and convert it to gold bars at Hannoush Jewelers in Hadley to avoid being prosecuted as part of a drug ring, officials said.
He instructed her to leave the gold in the trunk of her car so a court officer could come by to collect it.
The woman wasn't buying it and called the real police, who set up a sting. They put two buckets of fake gold in a car's trunk in the parking lot of the Hadley jewelry store and waited for someone to collect them. Contractor made the trek from New Jersey to Central Mass and moved the buckets from the bait car to his own.
But not all that glitters is gold—like handcuffs.
Contractor pleaded guilty to one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March. He was sentenced to a year and a day and deportation, the prosecutor said.
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