Man charged in scam that took $420K from Berkshire County man

A Boston man has been arrested in a scheme that stole around $420,000 from a 75-year-old Berkshire County resident.

Urvishkumar Vipulkumar Patel, 21, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Patel was a courier in which he would pick up boxes of cash from the resident.

The victim was targeted around June 2024 through a pop-up message on his computer complaining that his computer was frozen. The victim was directed to call a phone number that they thought was from Microsoft. A person who said his name was “Sam Wilson” asked the victim to confirm his address. “Sam Wilson” then allegedly told the victim that his name and address was listed as being involved in a money laundering scheme.

He needed to withdraw money from his bank and send it to the Treasury Department, where it would be kept in a lock box until he was cleared of the scheme. He was directed to withdraw the cash in installments, according to prosecutors.

The victim made five separate withdrawals over the course of three months. He then was directed to put the cash in a taped box with the victim’s own name and address written on it. He was told to deliver the cash to a courier who would pick it up. The victim put the box into the courier’s vehicle and the courier drove away.

The victim’s sister contacted law enforcement on Oct. 1 about this activity. On Oct. 7, Patel was approached by an undercover officer posing as the victim. The officer placed the cash into Patel’s vehicle and he drove away before being arrested.

Patel was allegedly driving a rental car and told law enforcement that he had bene collecting packages for weeks at the direction of someone else.

Patel was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was arraigned on Oct. 7 and released with electronic monitoring.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who believes they are the victim of a scam is asked to email USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov. To report elder fraud, please visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center or contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 or 833–372–8311.