COLUMBIANA – A man from Erie, Pennsylvania, is charged in Columbiana County for his alleged involvement in a gold coin scam.
According to an affidavit filed in the Columbiana County Municipal Court, a scammer posed as a federal agent and tricked a victim into giving him over $100,000 worth of gold coins.
The affidavit states that the victim initially reported the scam in June, after being contacted by someone claiming to be “Bernardo Pillot” from the U.S. Marshals.
The victim told Columbiana police that they believed they were purchasing gold coins to give to “Pillot” to “secure their assets.”
Police say the victim purchased 15 gold coins for $69,555 on June 3 and gave them to a courier in person three days later.
The victim then purchased 12 more gold coins for $54,810 on June 8 and gave them to a courier five days later, according to the affidavit.
The victim then realized this was a scam and reported it to police on June 22.
Police say the victim remained in contact with “Pillot”, telling him they were refinancing their home to get more coins, and sent a fake cashier’s check for $84,400 and scheduled a pickup date of August 6.
“Pillot” allegedly told the victim to give the coins to someone named “Jerry” in a white BMW.
Police say the victim complied, and after “Jerry” collected the package, he was stopped by undercover officers, who identified him as 30-year-old Vashist Gadela.
Court records show Gadela is charged with a fourth-degree felony count of theft by deception, as well as a first-degree misdemeanor count of possessing criminal tools.
Gadela pleaded not guilty to these charges, and his case has been bound over to the common pleas court.
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