Fake Xfinity Call, Fake FTC Agent, Real Gold Bars: Georgia Courier Gets 14 Years

Then the "FTC" calls.

That's how a scheme that ended with gold bars handed over on a doorstep got started, according to the indictment. And on October 7, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia, part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced that one of the men who showed up at that door is going to federal prison for a long time.

So what happened?

Javed Ashiq, a 52-year-old Pakistani national living in Decatur, Georgia, was sentenced to 168 months in prison (that's 14 years) after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered three years of supervised release and $886,799.84 in restitution. According to DOJ, Ashiq will be processed for deportation after he serves his time.

According to the release, Ashiq's role in the scheme was that of a courier. From July to August 2024, he picked up gold bars and cash from the victim and delivered them to the other fraudsters. He and his co-conspirators led the victim to believe their identity had been stolen, posed as federal agents with the FTC, and convinced the victim to buy cryptocurrency and gold to "protect" their assets.

Here's the part that matters for this audience. The indictment in United States v. Ashiq spells out how it started. It alleges that at least one member of the conspiracy:

• Called the victim posing as Xfinity and said the victim's identity had been stolen.
• Said Xfinity had to notify the FTC and that someone from the FTC would call with instructions.
• Called again posing as the FTC and asked for access to the victim's computer.
• Used that access to direct transfers, cash withdrawals, cryptocurrency purchases and gold purchases.
• Handed the victim a password to give the "undercover federal agent" at each pickup.

Ashiq's plea agreement fills in the rest. Between July 10 and August 16, 2024, the victim, who was 90 at the time, handed over gold bars three times at their home in Evans, Georgia. On two of those occasions, Ashiq himself posed as the "undercover federal agent" who took the packages.

Read that again. Two fake phone calls, one fake federal agency, and a man standing on a doorstep pretending to be law enforcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and the Sandy Springs Police Department investigated the case.

Why should you care?

Look, I get it. You're not running a gold bar ring. You're running a call center, or buying leads, or placing outbound calls for a real brand.

But here's the thing ... every one of these scams starts with a phone call that borrows somebody else's trust. A cable company. A federal agency. Your brand could be next on that list.

And every time one of these calls lands, consumers get more cautious about talking to people they don't know. Including you. That hits your contact rates, your conversion rates and your reputation. It's all just simple math.

It also keeps regulators focused on impersonation. The FTC is literally the agency these guys pretended to be. Am I right that they're not going to find that funny?

What to do about it

• Never let anyone imply an affiliation you don't have. Not with a government agency, not with a utility, not with a big brand. Not in a script, not in a voicemail, not in a text.
• Watch your scripts and recordings. Pay special attention to calls or messages that mention identity theft, an attempt to gain remote access to a computer or a pitch to protect someone's assets.
• Know who's on your network. If you sell voice or messaging services, know your customers and act fast on traceback requests and abuse complaints.
• Tell your own customers how you contact them. And tell them you will never ask them to buy gold, buy crypto or hand anything to a courier. Ever.

DO NOT let a vendor run fake security alert scripts with your name on them. Just don't.

The bottom line

A 90-year-old answered the phone, trusted the voice on the other end, and handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold. The courier got 14 years. The callers? The indictment describes them only as co-conspirators unknown to the grand jury.

Protect the people on the other end of the line. That's it.

Source: DOJ, Pakistani national sentenced to 14 years in prison for scheme to defraud elderly victim.