Venkateswara Chagamreddy, a 27-year-old Indian man living in Texas on a student visa, has been convicted in Delaware County of defrauding a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran. In August 2025, the elderly man called a phone number he believed was Microsoft support. He was told that criminal activity had been detected on his computer and that a federal official would contact him to provide further advice.Another person called him, posing as a federal officer, and gave him the wrong badge number. The fake federal officer told the victim that his identity had been stolen and provided to criminals, resulting in him being “investigated” and his identity used to commit a federal crime.The victim was told that his money should be transferred to gold and deposited in the Treasury Department. The victim complied and handed over a large amount of gold to the fake officer.When the victim was contacted again for more money, he reached out to a family member who told him that he was being defrauded and that no government department would ask for gold from any individual. This time, Chagamareddy came to collect the package and was arrested. Evidence presented to the jury revealed that he had $500 in cash, a cell phone, and 23 ounces of gold in the vehicle.
Who is Venkateswara Chagamareddy? What is his gold scam?
While a big gold scam racket has already come under the radar of law enforcement, investigators said Chagamreddy was working with another co-conspirator. He was a courier man as he traveled across the states to pick up packages from victims. For example, when he was arrested, his messages proved that he had been in contact with several elderly victims. He even flew from Austin to North Carolina where he picked up the gold and then handed it over to a co-conspirator.On his trips, he would provide status updates, location, fuel levels to the co-conspirator.When he was arrested, Chagamreddy told law enforcement that he was in the United States on a student visa and was at risk of deportation after being suspended from school. He said that he had recently gone out of the state to join a different college and when he returned, the gold was in his vehicle.
