Collin County deputies help stop $800,000 gold extortion scheme

Collin County detectives took custody of a New Jersey man as he traveled toward Kentwood, Louisiana, stopping what the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office says would have been the theft of more than $800,000 in gold from an elderly Tangipahoa Parish resident. The arrest was announced April 8, 2026, after local investigators in Collin County contacted TPSO about an ongoing gold-extortion investigation. ([tpso.org](tpso.org/post/2026-04-001))

The suspect, identified by TPSO as 25-year-old Nigam Bhatt of Parsippany, New Jersey, was in the United States on a work visa and was booked on extortion charges after being intercepted on Tuesday, April 7. TPSO investigators said detectives discovered several senior victims during the probe and, working at the direction of Criminal Investigations Captain John Gardner, set up to stop Bhatt’s planned local meeting. The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the April 7 operation. ([tpso.org](tpso.org/post/2026-04-001))

TPSO described the method: victims received calls saying their bank accounts and Social Security benefits were frozen and that the only way to release funds was to hand over gold in an exchange. Investigators warned that suspects use deceptive rapport-building and pressure tactics to convince vulnerable people to withdraw savings, buy gold and hand it to a courier or meet in person for an “exchange.” Collin County detectives’ travel and surveillance work identified Bhatt’s route and allowed local detectives in Louisiana to take him into custody before the transfer occurred. ([tpso.org](tpso.org/post/2026-04-001))

For families in Collin County, the case lays out specific warning signs investigators say too often go unnoticed: unsolicited calls claiming frozen accounts, urgent pressure to move funds or valuables, requests to buy gold or other tangible assets and instructions to meet a courier or stranger. TPSO provided a concrete step for anyone who suspects an incident like this: contact the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 985-902-2088. Collin County deputies emphasized cross-jurisdictional information-sharing as the reason the operation succeeded. ([tpso.org](tpso.org/post/2026-04-001))

The operation shows how quickly a scheme can cross state lines and why local reporting matters, with Collin County detectives’ tip to TPSO preventing what investigators estimate would have been an $800,000-plus loss. Bhatt remains booked on extortion charges as the wider investigation continues; investigators are asking anyone with information or other potential victims to come forward to assist in tracing assets and uncovering the network behind the scam. ([tpso.org](tpso.org/post/2026-04-001))