Neither the Secret Service nor the FBI accepts gold as payment. In fact, if anyone asks you to pay in gold or cryptocurrency, you should probably contact local law enforcement and tell them you’re involved in a scam.  

Florida is already on the front lines as a top three state for number of fraud reports and total losses because of these schemes, according to FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley.  

Carley and top officials from IRS-Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida met Monday in Gainesville to announce the successful conviction and sentencing of Atharva Shailesh Sathawane.  

Sathawane, 23, was arrested in a sting by the Gainesville Police Department in early 2025. Following a successful conviction in October 2025, he’s now been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit money laundering.Trial documents said he helped defraud at least 28 victims of $15 million. 

“This man did not just steal money, he targeted trust, exploited fear and preyed on our most vulnerable members of our community, eroding the sense of security they had,” Carley said. “But cases like this are just a piece of a bigger problem that is widespread, and Florida is on the front line.”    

Sathawane was a courier, and according to trial evidence, he drove across the East Coast to collect fraud payments in cash and gold, nicknamed “gold rushes” by him and his conspirators. But officials said Sathawane primarily operated in Florida, with victims in Jacksonville, Boca Raton, Coral Gables and Gainesville. 

When arrested, Sathawane was residing in South Florida illegally after overstaying his student visa. He’s from India and officials said the international scheme included orchestrators in India and multiple domestic couriers.    

Sathawane was arrested in a sting operation at a condo in Gainesville. The arrest came after Brian Oliver, 84, gave Sathawane a cardboard box with 68 gold coins worth $200,000. Oliver realized afterward that it had been a fraud and contacted the local police who set up a trap.  

Oliver spoke with Mainstreet Daily News, a sister publication of The Apopka Chief, after the conviction about how he got embroiled in the scam. 

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida John Heekin said Oliver took the right steps instead of trying to confront or reach out to the scammers.  

“He helped turn the hunters into the hunted, and we were able to catch Sathawane in the act and ultimately secure his conviction of these crimes,” Heekin said.  

None of the cash or gold taken by Sathawane was recovered, and Heekin said as soon as couriers pick up the money, it changes hands, gets laundered and is lost.        

Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya thanked the partner agencies and his staff who worked to bring the case to completion nearly one year after the arrest.  

“Fraud complaints come into our office daily,” Moya said. “We do our best to triage them. In this case, we knew right away that this was something that needed our immediate attention.” 

But the FBI’s Carley said fraud cases are already trending higher in Florida compared with last year, with double the number of complaints so far. In total, the FBI received fraud reports that totaled $16 billion in 2025. 

Carley said government agencies will never call with threats of arrest or fines. He said fraudsters can sound like the real deal, but government agencies will never require gold, cash, gift cards or cryptocurrency payments or meet in person for the exchange.  

“If something feels off or seems too good to be true, it is,” Carley said. “Don’t believe it. I want people to be suspicious when they get these types of calls. Resist the pressure to act quickly.”  

IRS-Criminal Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ronald Loecker addressed the family and friends of elderly adults. He said you should speak with loved ones about scams and plan a response before the phone rings with a fraudster on the other end. 

His advice: just hang up. He said that simple message and action will send the fraudster down the road looking for another victim and save your loved one hundreds, thousands or millions of dollars.  

Loecker also had a message for scammers working in the state. Florida has built an outstanding investigative team and coalition of agencies to work on the fraud cases.   

“We have an outstanding investigative team here in Florida,” Loecker said. “Our partnerships from the state, local and federal law enforcement are going to work tirelessly to put you in jail for the crimes you commit. Do not think that your minor role in simply being a courier gives you a free pass. You’re going to end up in jail.”  

Oliver, the Gainesville victim, also spoke. He emphasized using your local law enforcement agency to double check claims sent by phone or email. He said many of the victims in this case were told that their identities had been tied to drug smuggling, money laundering or illegal firearm sales.   

Oliver said some victims received alleged warrants for their arrest with calls for gold payments. Oliver said that’s when victims need to slow down, go to their local law enforcement agency and get the information verified.  

He added that the only reason payment must be made in gold is because it can’t be tracked. That’s a sign of a fraud, Oliver said, who had to take a part-time job after getting scammed.  

“If this information gets out into the public, we’re not going to be able to stop it, but perhaps, just maybe, we can slow it down a little bit,” Oliver said.