{"id":191260,"date":"2026-03-05T05:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T05:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/191260\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T05:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T05:17:09","slug":"six-arrested-in-2-8m-texas-gold-bar-scam-targeting-elderly-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/191260\/","title":{"rendered":"Six arrested in $2.8M Texas ‘gold bar’ scam targeting elderly victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" article <\/p>\n

HOUSTON – Six people have been arrested in connection with an organized “gold bar” scam that authorities say defrauded at least six elderly victims across Texas, for about $2.8 million.<\/p>\n

One of the victims included an 81-year-old Friendswood resident, who lost $766,000 before most of the money was recovered.<\/p>\n

Texas gold bar scam targeted elderly <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

The Friendswood Police Department said the investigation began in December 2025 after the 81-year-old victim was persuaded to convert $766,000 into 177 one-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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One-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins <\/p>\n

According to police, a scammer posing as a federal employee told the victim their financial accounts had been compromised and instructed them to purchase gold to “protect” their assets.<\/p>\n

Police uncover multi-million dollar fraud operation <\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

Investigators later determined that a similar scheme had targeted a 76-year-old Friendswood resident in September 2025, resulting in a loss of $134,000. Police identified two initial suspects early in the investigation and determined that one had driven to the victim\u2019s home to collect the gold.<\/p>\n

43-year-old Smitaben Thakor of Sugar Land, Texas, was arrested Dec. 29, 2025, on a Galveston County warrant charging theft from an elderly person.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

Shortly after, 48-year-old Samirali Ghabrani of Missouri City, Texas was arrested Dec. 31, 2025, and later charged with theft of property valued at $300,000 or more. Authorities said Ghabrani is also being held on an immigration detainer at the Galveston County Jail.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

As the investigation expanded, detectives executed search warrants at a home in Richmond and at a Houston restaurant. During a search of the Richmond residence, officers recovered 157 of the 177 gold coins stolen from the 81-year-old victim, police said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More suspects identified and arrested <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Authorities also seized evidence tied to what they described as a broader fraud operation.<\/p>\n

35-year-old Mudassir Iqbal Lakhani and 60-year-old Iqbal Ibrahim Lakhani, both of Richmond, were arrested at the residence and charged with theft of property valued at $300,000 or more. Each has a bond set at $5 million.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

Investigators later executed a search warrant Jan. 9, 2026, at a Houston jewelry business in Sharpstown, Texas, where they said they seized additional evidence connected to the scheme.<\/p>\n

Police recovered the remaining stolen gold on Feb. 2, 2026, at a residence in Missouri City.<\/p>\n

On March 4, 2026, with assistance from the Montgomery County Sheriff\u2019s Office and prosecutors, officers executed another search warrant at a home in Kingwood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

39-year-old Zohaib Muhammad of Kingwood, Texas was arrested on a charge of theft of property valued at $300,000 or more and engaging in organized criminal activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

36-year-old Samir Ali of Atascocita, Texas was later arrested during a traffic stop near his home on a similar charge. Both their bonds were set at $5 million.<\/p>\n

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Courtesy: Friendswood Police Department’s Facebook page <\/p>\n

Investigation into international fraud links <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Police said the investigation has identified four additional victims in Humble, Cypress, Cleburne and New Braunfels who collectively lost about $1.9 million. Authorities said the broader investigation remains ongoing and involves connections beyond the United States.<\/p>\n

“The Friendswood Police Department\u2019s quick and precise actions in this case reflect our unwavering dedication to protecting our community, especially our elderly residents who are often targeted by criminals,” Police Chief Josh Rogers said in a statement, crediting coordination with local prosecutors and the FBI.<\/p>\n

Charges, bond amount <\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

All six suspects have been charged with first-degree felony theft with an enhancement for engaging in organized criminal activity, according to the Galveston County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Thakor and Ghabrani remain held on $1 million bonds, while the other four defendants are being held on $5 million bonds each.<\/p>\n

What you can do:<\/p>\n

Authorities urge residents to remain vigilant and to contact local law enforcement if they believe they or a loved one has been targeted by a similar scam.<\/p>\n

The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Friendswood Police Department.<\/p>\n

Friendswood<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Money<\/a>Galveston County<\/a>Richmond<\/a>Fort Bend County<\/a>Kingwood<\/a>Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office<\/a>Missouri City<\/a>Sugar Land<\/a>Texas<\/a>Top Stories<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"article HOUSTON – Six people have been arrested in connection with an organized “gold bar” scam that authorities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1046,441,20802,12597,56,58,57,8419,56874,17192,2349,223,1827,30863,16361,2785,2053,216,393],"class_list":{"0":"post-191260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-crime-publicsafety","9":"tag-fort-bend-county","10":"tag-friendswood","11":"tag-galveston-county","12":"tag-houston","13":"tag-houston-headlines","14":"tag-houston-news","15":"tag-kingwood","16":"tag-mcso","17":"tag-missouri-city","18":"tag-money","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-organization","21":"tag-richmond","22":"tag-sugar-land","23":"tag-texas-dps","24":"tag-top-stories","25":"tag-tx","26":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}