September 20, 2024 – Dodge Co., WI – On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a phone scam where the caller attempted to defraud a 61-year-old town of Lowell resident. Due to the immediate reporting of this violation, investigators were able to take over communications with the scammer and pose as the victim.
The scammer identified themselves as an agent with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and requested for the victim to withdraw all their money from the bank in cash.
The scammer claimed this was due to having a compromised social security number and bank accounts, and the scammer claimed that the FTC would issue a new social security number and new bank accounts to the victim.
The criminal organization sent a person from the Chicago, Illinois area to the victim’s residence to pick up the funds. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office utilized an undercover law enforcement officer to complete the transfer to the suspect. Immediately after the transfer occurred, the suspect was arrested. This criminal organization attempted to defraud the victim of over $81,000.
Today, Laxit Devendra Patel, an 18-year-old man from India, had his initial appearance at the Dodge County Circuit Court.
He was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit theft by false representation. He is currently being held in custody on $500,000 cash bond. As always, all persons are innocent until proven guilty in court.
Sheriff Schmidt is extremely proud of the teamwork of our staff in making this arrest. Our county is blessed to have the caliber of investigators that we have in holding criminals responsible for their actions.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind you that law enforcement agencies will never contact you via phone and require you to pay cash to assist you with things like identity theft, posting bond for a new charge or warrant, paying for outstanding citations, or resolving parking tickets.
Please do not withdraw large amounts of cash without knowing for certain where that money is going and that there’s a legitimate reason for you to be transferring those funds.
For additional information and safety tips please visit: Frauds and Scams | Dodge County, WI, or Scams and Safety — FBI.