Western New York's "Save our Seniors" Effort Charges Eight, Including Couriers in Tech Support Scams

The bottom line: tech support and customer support scams were at the center of the two largest courier cases in this sweep, including one alleged attempt to collect $567,000 in gold bars from a single elderly woman.

The tech support and customer support cases

Dhruv Patel, 34, of Franklin Park, New Jersey. According to the complaint:

1. He was caught attempting to pick up $567,000 worth of gold bars from an elderly woman in the district who had fallen victim to a customer support scam.
2. Weeks earlier, he had been arrested in the Northern District of New York while trying to pick up $48,000 from an elderly victim of a customer support scam.
3. He allegedly acted as a middleman between fraudsters and couriers, arranging pickups around the country.
4. He is accused of defrauding at least 12 victims of more than $9,100,000.

He is charged with wire fraud, money laundering and interstate transportation of stolen money, and related conspiracies.

Touhedul Tuhin, 24, and Iftekhar Latif Nieon, 23, both of Kent, Ohio. According to the complaint, the two collected:

1. $40,000 from an elderly district resident who fell victim to a scam by people posing as Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agents.
2. $38,000 from an 81-year-old district resident who fell victim to a tech support scam.
3. $19,500 and $28,000 from two more elderly district residents who fell victim to tech support scams.
4. $15,000 from an elderly victim in Ohio, among other victims elsewhere.

Both are in the United States on student visas. They are charged with wire fraud and money laundering and related conspiracies, with alleged losses and attempted losses totaling $276,000.

The rest of the sweep

The other complaints charge:

1. Stephen Odiboh, who allegedly received money from a romance scam victim while on supervised release for a prior money laundering conviction.
2. Renee Thompson, accused of depositing counterfeit checks and continuing to launder money after receiving a "money mule letter" warning her to stop.
3. Christopher Hernandez, accused of taking part in hacking a victim's retirement account and making fake IDs and bank cards from stolen personal information.
4. Elias Circle, accused of posing as a government agency distributing restitution and inducing an elderly victim to send about $600,000 between 2017 and 2024.
5. Estermarie Jones, accused of altering postal money orders and using stolen identities to open accounts.

All charges are allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

About SOS

The SOS working group, which was founded in April 2025, includes the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), other federal agencies and New York state and local partners.

What this means for you

1. Customer support scams can reach six figures. One victim was allegedly asked for $567,000 in gold bars.
2. Couriers are being arrested in multiple districts. Patel was allegedly caught twice within weeks.
3. Money mule warning letters matter. Ignoring one can result in charges.