An Ohio woman handed over more than $1.8 million in gold after callers posing as technical support workers and federal officials convinced her that her money was in danger. She learned the deliveries were a scam only when a detective from Moline, Illinois, contacted her months later.
The woman told police in Boardman, Ohio, that the scheme began with a supposed Microsoft warning on her computer in April 2026. What started with a purchase of more than $100,000 in gold coins developed into repeated exchanges with people claiming to act on behalf of the government.
Separately, Moline police reported that detectives arrested Aman Aman, 29, of Fresno, California, in September as part of an interstate theft investigation targeting older adults. His Illinois theft-by-deception allegation involves a substantially smaller amount.
Moline police issued a wider fraud warning on Oct. 12. The available reporting does not establish that Aman personally collected the Ohio woman’s gold or that her $1.8 million loss is part of his pending Illinois charge.
A Fake Microsoft Warning Led to a Gold Pickup at Walmart
On April 17, the woman was using Facebook when her computer screen went black and displayed a message directing her to call Microsoft for help. She called the number and was told by someone posing as a support representative that her identity had been stolen, according to WKBN, which reviewed her Boardman police report.
The conversation then moved to a man purporting to represent the Federal Trade Commission. He claimed she needed to protect her money by converting it into gold coins. After making an initial purchase worth more than $100,000, she was instructed to put the coins in a box and take them to a Walmart in Boardman.
A person presented to her as an officer arrived to collect the box. He provided a code word that had been arranged beforehand and told her the gold would be placed with the U.S. Treasury Department in her name. Neither the FTC nor the Treasury uses such a procedure to safeguard personal savings.
Daily Contact and Repeated Deliveries Cost Her More Than $1.8 Million
The first exchange did not end the demands. The woman told Boardman investigators that she continued speaking with the scammers every day and made multiple gold deliveries. Her reported loss eventually exceeded $1.8 million.
She did not recognize the operation as fraudulent until a Moline detective contacted her. The detective said her name and several others had appeared in a notebook associated with a person who had been arrested, according to the Ohio police account described by WKBN. He advised her to contact law enforcement where she lived.
She filed a report with Boardman police on Oct. 8. A Moline Police Department spokesperson told Nexstar the following day that none of the woman’s gold had been recovered. The publicly reported account does not name the arrested person connected to the notebook or identify the individuals who picked up the coins.
California Man Faces an Illinois Theft-by-Deception Charge
In its Oct. 12 coverage, KWQC reported that Moline detectives arrested Aman in September. Police said the Fresno resident had traveled across the country as part of a larger suspected theft operation.
The court docket, case 2026CF711, shows that prosecutors filed a one-count information on Sept. 4. The charge alleges theft by deception involving property valued at more than $10,000 but not more than $100,000, classified as a Class 2 felony under Illinois Section 16-1. Illinois law sets an ordinary prison term of three to seven years for a Class 2 felony when imprisonment is imposed.
On Sept. 16, a judge granted the state’s petition to deny pretrial release. The court history records that Aman was detained because of flight risk. During a Sept. 29 preliminary hearing, the judge found probable cause for the case to proceed and continued the detention order.
Aman pleaded not guilty at that hearing and requested a jury trial. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29 at 8:30 a.m. He remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Moline Police Warn of Government Impersonators Across the Midwest
Moline detectives said the investigation had reached nearly every Midwestern state. In their public warning, they described criminals who impersonate government representatives, law enforcement, technical support staff or distressed relatives to create a false emergency. Victims may be ordered to keep the conversation secret, avoid talking to relatives or banks, disclose financial information or convert savings into gift cards, cash or precious metals.
The use of a code word at the Ohio pickup resembles a technique identified in a 2025 FBI alert. The bureau documented at least 1,737 reported cash-and-gold courier pickups nationwide from 2023 through May 2025, with approximately $186.3 million in reported losses. Those figures describe a national scam category, not the size of the Moline investigation.
What to Do When a Caller Demands Gold to Protect Your Money
The Federal Trade Commission warns that government officials will not tell people to buy gold, transfer savings into a supposedly safe account or hand cash to a courier to prevent theft. A message claiming that a computer or bank account has been compromised does not make such instructions legitimate.
Anyone receiving those demands should end the conversation rather than calling numbers displayed in unexpected computer warnings. Contact the bank or agency independently using a known official number, and speak with someone trusted before withdrawing funds or buying precious metals.
If money or valuables have already been transferred, contact the financial institution and local police promptly. Keep purchase receipts, messages, telephone numbers, delivery instructions and any code words used by the collectors. Suspected scams can be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI through IC3.gov.