Two suspects are accused of bilking at least 70 people in 32 states out of their hard-earned cash.
The man and woman are behind bars, all thanks to a Bergen County detective, CBS2’s Christine Sloan reported.
Akash Satish Patel, 32, who was visiting from India, allegedly ran a phone scam targeting people with past IRS problems. He would claim to be with the government, authorities said.
“You have a person who will call a victim and threaten them with arrest if they do not pay a certain amount of money in an expeditious fashion,” Leonia police Chief Thomas Rowe said.
Akash Patel and a woman, Nikita Natvarlal Patel, 25, were arrested days after a victim notified Leonia police Detective Michael Jennings.
Jennings told Sloan he was hot on the suspect’s trail. “A couple of times, I was 10 to 15 minutes behind him,” he said.
Jennings worked with MoneyGram, getting tipped off whenever Akash Patel made a transaction.
He was finally arrested by Elizabeth police at a CVS Pharmacy after collecting cash he allegedly got from a victim through MoneyGram. Nikita Patel was with him in the car.