A 37-year-old Indian citizen in the United States on a student visa was sentenced in Tulsa federal court on September 10, 2026, to 30 months in prison for his role in a scheme that scared a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran into converting his savings into gold and handing it to a stranger. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma said U.S. District Judge John D. Russell also ordered Venkateswara Chagamreddy of San Antonio, Texas, to pay $99,496 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release. A jury convicted him in April 2026 of conspiring to defraud the veteran, and he is expected to face removal proceedings after his sentence.
How a tech support call turned into a gold pickup
The scheme began in August 2025, when the veteran, who lived alone on a rural road in Delaware County, Oklahoma, called a phone number he believed belonged to Microsoft support. The person who answered told him criminal activity had been detected on his computer and that the information would be turned over to the federal government.
Next, someone claiming to be a federal officer contacted him and gave a false badge number. The fake officer said the veteran’s identity had been stolen and used to commit federal crimes, and that he was now being “investigated.” He was then transferred to someone posing as the “Treasury Department,” who told him to move his money into gold and said an “officer” would pick it up the next day.
The veteran complied, sent photos of the gold, and handed over a package when the fake officer arrived. A few days later, the impostor called again and demanded more.
Know who is legitimately on the line. Older veterans are a steady target for people posing as officials, and the practical task this case leaves families is learning what real help looks like, starting with the fact that filing for a VA pension is free. The pension-poacher warning signs are set out plainly in The Veterans Benefits Action Kit.
A family member’s call and an arrest at the door
Before sending more money, the veteran contacted a family member, who recognized the scam and called the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. With the veteran’s cooperation, deputies arranged another pickup. When Chagamreddy arrived at the home at the scheduled time, he was arrested.
Evidence presented to the jury showed he had $500 in cash, a cell phone and 23 ounces of gold in his vehicle. Messages on his phone showed he was lost on the way to the rural address and sent photos to a co-conspirator; the co-conspirator had described the 79-year-old man and sent a photo of him, in which he was visibly wearing a Vietnam veteran shirt. Chagamreddy sent one photo confirming his arrival and was detained shortly afterward.
“Elder fraud schemes are despicable, calculated attacks that prey on some of the most vulnerable and trusting members of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Nassar. He said the defendant “used fear to deceive and extort a Vietnam veteran who served our country,” and credited the victim for coming forward.
A cross-country route of gold pickups
An agent testified that messages on Chagamreddy’s phone showed he worked with another person to defraud numerous victims within 48 hours. According to trial evidence, he flew from Austin to North Carolina, where he picked up gold from an 87-year-old woman. After delivering it to a different co-conspirator, he sent a photo of a dollar bill with “29 oz rec 3000 paid” written on it.
The next day, the messages showed, he drove from Austin to Andale, Kansas, starting at 1:21 a.m., sending location screenshots and fuel updates along the way. After resting in a hotel for a few hours, he went to the home of a 75-year-old woman the co-conspirator had described and then sent a photo of a sealed box with the message “23 Oz.” From there he drove to Delaware County, Oklahoma, where deputies were waiting.
The case was investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Greenough and Augustus Forster. Chagamreddy remains in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The restitution order makes him responsible for repaying $99,496, though a court order alone does not determine how quickly, or how completely, victims will actually be repaid.
Why government-impostor and tech support scams hit older savers hard
The case follows a well-worn script: a fake tech support contact, a supposed federal agent, a threat of criminal investigation and an instruction to move money into something “safe,” here gold, that a courier collects in person. Gold and cash pickups are attractive to scammers because, once handed over, they are hard to trace and nearly impossible to reverse.
The Justice Department says it reported to Congress that in 2025 it took more than 280 enforcement actions against more than 600 defendants in elder fraud cases. Collectively, those defendants stole or attempted to steal more than $2.3 billion from more than one million Americans. Investment fraud ranked first, with more than $1.8 billion in losses, followed by fraudulent tech support at $982 million.
No real federal agency asks people to convert savings into gold or hand money to an officer at the door, and a support line that suddenly hands a caller to a federal agent is a sign something is wrong. Hanging up and calling a relative, as this veteran eventually did, or a known phone number for the agency involved, breaks the pressure the scammers depend on.
Victims 60 and older can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. The Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative lists scenarios and red flags, and scams can also be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Keeping a veteran’s money and benefits out of the wrong hands
This veteran was pressured by people pretending to be government officials. Many older veterans and surviving spouses also field calls and offers about VA benefits, and the gap is knowing which contacts are legitimate and keeping track of what has actually been filed.
The Veterans Benefits Action Kit includes the pension-poacher warning signs, how to file for free with VA Form 21P-527EZ and a claim tracker for recording each step and contact on a pension claim.
Keep each claim step in writing with The Veterans Benefits Action Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
