CHARLOTTE, N.C. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - North Carolina, Western), published as received.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A 23-year-old Indian citizen and resident of Waxhaw, N.C., was indicted by a federal grand jury in Charlotte for his role in a fraud conspiracy to steal millions from elderly victims, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The criminal indictment was returned on October 22, 2025, and charges Shubh Ketankumar Patel with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and false impersonation of an employee or officer of the United States.

Steven Gutierrez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Sheriff Alan Norman of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations in the bill of indictment, from 2023 to May 2024, Patel and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud victims by posing as federal agents or other investigators. Patel and his co-conspirators allegedly targeted mostly elderly victims and tricked them into handing over substantial portions of their financial savings for supposed safekeeping, or to avoid arrest and prosecution on made-up charges. It is alleged that Patel and his co-conspirators regularly targeted older adults across the United States, including in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

The indictment alleges that one of Patel’s roles in the conspiracy was to collect cash from victims. As such, on multiple occasions during the conspiracy, Patel drove to a victim’s residence purporting to be a federal agent and obtained cash from a victim in a face-to-face transaction. Over the course of the scheme, Patel and his co-conspirators defrauded multiple individuals of more than $2 million.

The charges against the defendant are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Patel faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy offense and three years in prison for impersonating an officer of the United States. A federal district court judge will determine Patel’s ultimate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

In making the announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the U.S. Secret Service and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case. 

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).