Bangladesh citizen arrested in Tennessee over alleged Social Security impersonation scam

A 47-year-old Bangladesh citizen living in Atlanta was arrested in Crossville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, 30 September, after allegedly acting as a cash courier in a Social Security impersonation scam targeting an elderly East Tennessee resident.

Abu Saleh was arrested during an undercover operation after investigators arranged a decoy cash pickup, according to Cumberland County booking records and information from the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, sas WVLT.

Saleh is being held in the Cumberland County Jail on a $2.65 million bond. Booking records also show an active outstanding warrant from Atlanta, Georgia, involving a similar alleged cash pickup scheme.

The investigation began after the elderly victim contacted the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office on 28 September. The victim said a caller posing as a federal agent with the Social Security Administration had claimed that the victim's Social Security number had been compromised.

The caller also allegedly told the victim that his computer had been hacked and that an employee at his bank was secretly helping cybercriminals.

The victim was instructed to buy a new laptop, provide the caller with remote access and withdraw large amounts of cash. The caller told the victim to hand the money to a visiting "courier" for safekeeping until a secure account could be established.

Before the fraud was discovered, the victim handed over $51,000 in two transactions.

On 22 September, the victim gave $24,000 to a courier at a Walmart in Cleveland, Tennessee. The following day, the victim handed over another $27,000 at a motel in Crossville, according to investigators.

The scammers later demanded an additional $14,000. Investigators then worked with the victim and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Cybercrimes unit to arrange a decoy cash package at a McDonald's on Peavine Road in Crossville.

Saleh was arrested after arriving to collect the package, according to the sheriff's office.

He was booked on four charges: theft of property over $10,000, with a $300,000 bond; criminal attempt to commit theft of property over $10,000, with a $150,000 bond; financial exploitation of an elderly person, with a $200,000 bond; and fugitive from justice over the Georgia warrant, with a $2 million bond.

The individual bonds total $2.65 million.

Booking records identify Saleh as a citizen of Bangladesh and show that he resides in Atlanta. On 1 October, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer hold on him.

Saleh is scheduled to appear in Cumberland County General Sessions Court on Monday, 5 October.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office warned residents to hang up on anyone asking for cash withdrawals, courier deliveries or remote computer access, saying legitimate federal agencies never collect money through cash handoffs.