Gujarati youth arrested in the US : An Indian national has been arrested in the US and accused of being a “money mule” in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme targeting the elderly. Jai Sunilbharti Goswami, 21, a native of Gujarat and resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, was detained in Canada while he was trying to flee to Qatar.

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Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York, said that Jai Sunilbharti Goswami, 21, of Gujarat, India and resident of Jersey City, NJ, has been arrested. He is charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, in January 2026, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division became aware of an Internet and telephone-based fraud scheme that targeted seniors in the Western District of New York and other areas of the country. The perpetrators of this scheme (criminals) defraud victims online and over phone calls, telling them that their bank accounts, money and/or personally identifiable information (PII) is somehow at risk or not safe. Elderly victims were persuaded to exchange their assets in the form of cash, gold and/or gift cards. The criminals would then pose as law enforcement officials or other concerned officials to further their scheme of defrauding the elderly.

When the scheme involved cash or gold, the criminals would arrange for “money mules” (middlemen) to collect the cash or gold from the victims and then deliver it to another member of the conspiracy. The accused Goswami, who hails from Gujarat, India but lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, was a money mule. On at least nine occasions, he personally collected or conspired to collect cash and gold from elderly victims in New York and New Jersey. The age of the victims ranged between 59 and 87 years. In total, the nine victims lost approximately $7,559,185.00.

The criminal complaint also states that Goswami had opened an account in Bank of America. Between August 1, 2025 and April 6, 2026, he deposited more than $90,000 in cash. Investigators believe these deposits indicate that Goswami received money to act as a money mule in the fraud scheme. Goswami made his first appearance before US Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen on August 17, 2026, and was released on certain conditions. At approximately 10:25 a.m. on August 18, 2026, they fled the United States by entering Canada via the Peace Bridge. Law enforcement agencies later learned that he had a flight booked from Toronto, Ontario to Doha, Qatar that same evening. The United States Probation Office submitted a 'report of the accused's violations of the rules under pre-trial supervision' to the court, after which the court issued an order and warrant of arrest. At approximately 7:13 pm, Canadian law enforcement officials took Goswami into custody at Toronto Pearson International Airport on charges of violating Canadian immigration rules. On August 20, Canadian authorities arrested Goswami on a request for provisional arrest pending extradition to the US.

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This fraud case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Meghan K. McGuire. This criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation, which was conducted under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr., New York Field Division. It also received additional assistance from the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security Investigations.

Goswami was arrested again by the US Marshals Service (under the direction of Marshal Charles Salina), IRS-CI, Homeland Security Investigations (under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone), US Border Patrol, Buffalo Sector (under the direction of Acting Chief Patrol Agent James D'Amato), the US Probation Office (under the direction of Chief Probation Officer Clifford Jackson) and Canadian law enforcement. It is the result of the efforts of the agencies doing this. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs is providing critical assistance in securing Goswami's extradition from Canada to the United States. Accusing an accused of a crime simply means being accused; The accused is considered innocent until proven guilty.