| By Big Radio News Staff |
An Indian national with a Canadian address is charged in Rock County Court as a party to attempted theft by false representation.
Police arrested Gaurav Sharma, 22, of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, after the victim’s sister called to report a suspicious white Jeep that Sharma was driving on her sister’s block in Edgerton.
The 74-year-old victim, identified in the criminal complaint as JZ, withdrew $15,000 from her credit union after people purporting to be from Microsoft told JZ she had a computer virus and that her bank account was compromised.
The people saying they were from Microsoft called themselves “Rachel” and “Michael” and gave JZ specific instructions on what to say to the tellers when trying to withdraw her money. They also suggested the “fraud” was an “inside job” and that JZ couldn’t trust the credit union employees.
A manager at an Edgerton branch of the credit union only gave JZ $2,000, but she got the rest of the $15,000 from other branches.
“Michael” then instructed JZ to take photos of the cash and send them to him, and then he had her put the money in three envelopes and told her someone would come to her home to pick up the money on Friday.
When a white Jeep pulled up to the house, “Michael” told JZ to take the money to the driver, but she insisted the driver come to the door to get the money.
That’s when JZ’s sister intervened and called police.
An Edgerton officer responded and followed the Jeep a short distance through town. Sharma rolled through a stop sign and failed to yield at another intersection, leading to a traffic stop.
Sharma was taken to the Edgerton Police Department, where he waived his Miranda rights and told Edgerton police he had a work permit in Canada and was taking a road trip in the U.S.
He allowed police to search his phone, which included a Google Maps search for JZ’s address. Once placed under arrest, he asked to use the restroom. Police searched the room after he exited and found $39,900 in cash in the trash can.
Sharma is being held on a $50,000 cash bond. If he comes up with bond, he must surrender his passport and any other documents used for international travel. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for next Monday, Nov. 25.
