NBC 5 cameras were there last month when state and local authorities descended on Tilak Jewelers in North Texas.
Newly obtained arrest warrants link the Irving store and Samai Jewelers in Frisco to what investigators describe as a large-scale fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly victims.
According to court documents, Tilak Jewelers purchased stolen gold, and some of it was later transported to Samai Jewelers to be melted down.
Investigators wrote that a source told them some of the gold was reshaped into bracelets and taken out of the country.
Arrests followed months of surveillance at both locations.
NBC 5 reached out to both stores at the time of the raids and has not heard back from the owners.
Documents show owners of both stores were among those arrested.
Six people are charged. The alleged offenses range from theft to engaging in organized criminal activity and financial abuse of the elderly.
The warrants outline several tactics investigators say were used to obtain the gold.
In one case, a man received “an email advising that he had an outstanding balance via PayPal.”
Another person received a call from someone claiming to be with the Treasury Department who said he was the “victim of identity theft.” The documents state he was later “convinced he was under federal investigation for money laundering and drug trafficking.”
Authorities wrote that in each case, those accused used the “threat of federal criminal prosecution” or claims of “identity theft” to coerce victims to “convert assets into gold or cash and provide them to a courier” before the assets were melted down and made into wearable jewelry.
“The crooks like to impersonate government organizations because that invokes a sense of urgency in us,” said Monica Horton with the Better Business Bureau of North Central Texas.
Horton said the BBB has tracked imposter scams for more than a decade. Agency data show people 65 and older report the highest losses.
She urged people to watch for common red flags.
“Typically, you’re not going to get a Facebook message or a text message or a phone call or an email from a government organization. They don’t typically contact you out of the blue,” she said.
She added that people should be cautious when asked to use gold or cryptocurrency, noting both can be difficult to trace.
Authorities said the victims in this case spanned multiple states.
The warrants also describe how investigators worked with some victims to conduct undercover operations to track suspects and uncover the scope of the alleged crimes.