A 21-year-old Indian national, Jay Sunilbharthi Goswami, has been arrested in Canada while attempting to flee the United States, facing charges for his alleged role as a money mule in an international scam operation that defrauded elderly Americans of over $7.5 million. Goswami, a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, was apprehended on August 17 after driving from Buffalo, New York, across the Peace Bridge into Canada and attempting to board a flight from Toronto to Doha. He is awaiting extradition back to the U.S.
Prosecutors allege that Goswami, who is in the U.S. on a student visa attending Fairleigh Dickinson University, facilitated the transfer of $7,559,185 from at least nine victims, primarily in their 70s and 80s, residing in New York and New Jersey. The scam involved overseas perpetrators, reportedly based in India, contacting victims by phone or email, impersonating law enforcement or government officials. They used various pretexts, such as linking victims to drug cases or claiming their information was stolen, to convince them to empty bank accounts and hand over funds.
Victims were instructed to provide cash, purchase gold bars, or buy gift cards. Goswami's role, as outlined in a criminal complaint by the FBI and IRS, was to collect the money or gold from victims at specified addresses using code words, and then transport it to other locations for shipment to India. He allegedly earned approximately $90,000 from his involvement in the scheme.
This is not Goswami’s first encounter with law enforcement regarding this operation. He was initially detained on December 19, 2025, but was subsequently released. Prosecutors contend that he continued his involvement with the scammers after his initial release. During his first arrest, Goswami reportedly told investigators he met one of the scammers at a funeral in India and was unaware of any illegal activity. However, the criminal complaint reportedly includes text messages, emails, and other documents suggesting his full awareness of the scam.
According to the complaint, Goswami even provided a local New Jersey lawyer's number to the individual he met at the funeral, known as "Black Tiger," after another money mule was arrested. Money mules are utilized to obscure the movement of stolen funds, complicating law enforcement efforts to trace their origins and final destinations.
Goswami faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering, which carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The U.S. and Indian authorities have been actively targeting such scam centers. Recently, Indian authorities reportedly raided 76 locations across the country suspected of running tech support scams, following tips from companies like Amazon and Microsoft. In a separate case in May, two individuals pleaded guilty to assisting a tech-support scheme based in India that defrauded American citizens.
