SCRANTON, PA — A 25-year-old Scranton man has been arrested and charged in a high-stakes scam that defrauded a Lehigh County woman of over $3 million, including gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Dharmikkumar Sutariya faces multiple felony charges related to the theft of two gold bars worth $215,400, authorities announced Monday. Investigators believe Sutariya played the role of a “courier” in a wider scam that spanned multiple counties and targeted an elderly woman.
According to Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan, the victim, a 68-year-old Upper Milford Township resident, fell for a fraud that began in January. She received a fake computer notification claiming her bank account had been used to purchase $18,000 in pornography. Embarrassed, she followed the instructions in the alert instead of contacting police.
Believing she was speaking with a Federal Trade Commission agent, the woman was told her account had been compromised and that she needed to buy gold bars and hand them over to “couriers” for safekeeping.
Between February and May 2025, the woman purchased a significant amount of gold. On May 13, Sutariya allegedly arrived at her home and received two gold bars, according to Holihan.
Sutariya is charged with:
Two counts of theft by unlawful taking
Receiving stolen property
Theft by deception (false impression)
Criminal use of a communication facility
All charges are felonies. He is currently in custody in Luzerne County as the investigation, led by State Trooper Francis J. Vanore and Kingston Detective John Anthony, continues.
Holihan emphasized the scam as a stark reminder about common fraud tactics, especially those targeting the elderly.
“Anything that is of value and untraceable — gold, jewels, gift cards and cryptocurrency — is very often linked to fraud and will not be requested as legitimate payment,” Holihan said.
The case will be prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Ramma R. Mineo, head of Lehigh County’s Elder Abuse Task Force.
