FBI Charges 3 in Missouri Gold Bar Scam Tied to Quincy

The FBI has 3 suspects in Missouri in an elaborate gold bar scheme that robbed many elderly residents of more than $8 million dollars and they say Quincy, Illinois was one of the key pickup locations.

The United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Missouri has just released stunning details of 3 suspects they have in custody that are believed to have been involved in robbing elderly residents of millions of dollars. They say Raj Chauhan, 33, Monarch Sachdev, 28, and Elon Harper, 27 were arrested last month outside of Missouri. Harper was arrested in Maine, Sachdev in Texas and Chauhan in northern Illinois. They were all charged with one count of wire fraud.

The indictment says that the scam involved contacting elderly residents in Missouri and many other locations and making them believe their bank accounts had been compromised and that they needed to purchase gold bars. They were told that government couriers would pick up the gold and transport it to a "secure" location. Chauhan, Sachdev and Harper were couriers and Sachdev also managed the pickups of other couriers according to the charges.

What's the Quincy, Illinois connection?

The FBI says that "Sachdev managed pickups in Houston; Canon City, Colo.; Quincy, Ill. and St. Louis."

The United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Missouri says the punishment is "20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. Restitution is mandatory".