Fraudster sentenced to eighteen years in prison after taking and laundering millions from elderly victims

Date: Jan. 26, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Gainesville, FL – Atharva Shailesh Sathawane of India was sentenced to 18 years in prison after a jury previously found him guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Elder fraud schemes like this one are taking place every day in every state, but especially in Florida due to our large population of retirees, so it is of critical importance that we educate the public of these threats to prevent these fraudsters from continuing to victimize our seniors. I applaud the excellent investigative work by our state and federal law enforcement partners to uncover and dismantle this complex, international fraud scheme, which was made possible by the brave victims who came forward to report the fraud in the first place. Our hope is that these elder fraud schemes never occur, but the talented prosecutors in my office will aggressively pursue the heinous fraudsters, like this defendant, and seek maximum punishments when we catch them.”

Trial evidence and court documents showed that the defendant, an illegal alien who had overstayed his student visa, was a courier in an international fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims. As part of the scheme, multiple elderly victims were convinced to liquidate their retirement accounts to obtain cash, gold, or both. The defendant would travel to each victim to take possession of large quantities of their cash and gold, and he would then deliver those fraudulently obtained proceeds to his co-conspirators, some of whom were orchestrating the fraud scheme from India.

After an elderly victim suspected he was being defrauded, he notified law enforcement who coordinated an undercover operation. The defendant was arrested upon his arrival at the elderly victim’s residence to pick up more gold. A subsequent search of the defendant’s cellular phone confirmed his involvement in the extensive elder fraud scheme. Over a 4-month period, the defendant made at least 33 trips to retrieve gold and cash from the elderly victims. Forensic analysis of the defendant’s phone revealed that he primarily operated in Florida, but he also traveled to Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York to retrieve cash and gold from elderly victims of this fraud scheme and deliver those proceeds to other co-conspirators. As a result of the fraud scheme, numerous elderly American citizens lost their entire life savings or experienced substantial financial hardship.

The defendant personally took, and then laundered, $6,615,484.66 in cash and gold from the elderly victims. The defendant attempted to pick up an additional $1,363,395.98 in gold from two elderly victims but was foiled by the intervention of a concerned friend of a victim in one instance, and by his arrest by law enforcement on the second attempt.

“This case underscores the devastating impact of international fraud schemes targeting our elderly citizens,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation, Florida Field Office. “The defendant’s actions robbed victims of their life savings and financial security. This case highlights the benefits to everyday Americans when local and federal law enforcement work hand in hand to bring criminals to justice and disrupt a network that preyed on the most vulnerable.”

“I commend our detectives for their tireless work in stopping scammers,” said Chief Nelson Moya, Gainesville Police Department. “We will not tolerate criminals who prey on our vulnerable citizens.”

“If anyone tells you to buy gold and hand it over to a stranger, it is not an investment, it is a scam,” said FBI Jacksonville Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley. “Mr. Sathawane preyed on his victims’ trust and fear, convincing them to turn over their life savings in gold. Unfortunately, this is a growing trend. In Florida alone, victims lost more than 33 million dollars last year just to gold bar scams. This sentencing is just one step toward justice for the victims in this scheme and the FBI’s efforts to stop this from happening over and over again.”

The case involved a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Gainesville Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.