Five individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme that defrauded elderly victims across ten states through a tech support scam, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Dariona Lambert, 23, Zhamoniq Stevens, 24, Chintankumar Parekh, 52, Mehulkumar Darji, 42, and Sital Singh, 43, admitted in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The most recent plea was entered by Darji on Friday.
Authorities say the operation began overseas. Scammers contacted elderly victims by phone or electronic messages and falsely claimed their savings and retirement accounts had been compromised. Victims were instructed to transfer funds for supposed safekeeping—often by purchasing gold bars or coins—which would then be collected by couriers sent by the scammers.
Lambert and Stevens admitted serving as couriers who picked up gold from victims. Darji, Parekh, and Singh acted as handlers who collected the gold and paid the couriers in cash.
“The government believes that the overseas scammers netted $9.3 million from victims,” according to prosecutors.
One case involved an 82-year-old woman from St. Louis who was told her financial accounts were at risk and needed to be protected. She was instructed to buy about $250,000 worth of gold bars. On May 1, 2024, Lambert traveled from Gainesville, Florida to St. Louis; Parekh rented a car and drove her near the victim’s home before she switched to an Uber for the final leg of the trip. Law enforcement intercepted Lambert upon arrival at the victim’s residence. After being alerted that Lambert had been apprehended, Parekh fled to Pittsburgh.
Parekh also admitted acting as a handler in similar gold pickups in Yuma and Scottsdale (Arizona), Placentia and La Jolla (California), Largo (Florida), Chapel Hill (North Carolina), and Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). Singh worked as a handler in Collierville (Tennessee), Universal City (Texas), and Greendale (Wisconsin). Darji handled pickups in Scottsdale, Largo, and La Jolla—including receiving three separate FedEx packages containing gold bars from a Largo victim. Lambert operated as a courier in multiple cities including Scottsdale; Placentia; La Jolla; Largo; Universal City; Hanover (Massachusetts); and Erie (Pennsylvania). Stevens worked as a courier for pickups from Yuma; La Jolla; Collierville; Largo; Greendale; Oxnard (California); Long Island (New York); and Cincinnati (Ohio).
Both Parekh and Darji are not lawfully present in the United States—Parekh overstayed his work visa while Darji was removed from the country in 2014.
Sentencing dates are set for November for Lambert, Stevens, and Parekh; Singh is scheduled for December 3 while Darji will be sentenced on December 22.
The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries penalties of up to 30 years imprisonment or fines up to $1 million.
The investigation was conducted by FBI agents alongside Homeland Security Investigations based in Tampa, Florida. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is leading prosecution efforts.
“If someone you know is a victim of a cyber scam, report it to the FBI,” officials said. Complaints can be filed online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or via phone at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
