Friendswood police seized more than $400,000 in gold, silver and cash when they arrested a Richmond man Saturday, Oct. 3, in connection with an organized scam targeting elderly residents.

Investigators took Suchit Chndrakant Patel into custody at about 2:30 a.m. at a residence in the 13900 block of Manobrook Court in Richmond, KGTX7 reported. They executed a Galveston County arrest warrant and a Fort Bend County search warrant at the home.

Patel is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a first-degree felony, and theft of less than $300,000. A judge set his bond at $10 million. An immigration detainer was also placed on him to transfer him to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

The search turned up $401,565 in gold, silver and cash, according to Click2Houston. Total recovered assets through recent search warrants now exceed $750,000.

"These criminals are stealing the life savings of elderly members of our community, and we are committed to finding everyone involved," Friendswood Police Chief Josh Rogers said.

The Friendswood Police Department believes Patel is connected to multiple victims across the Houston area. Investigators are working to identify the owners of the recovered property.

How the investigation started

The case traces to Sept. 15, when an elderly Friendswood resident reported being deceived by a suspect posing as a federal agent. The victim told police she had been communicating with a man since August who falsely claimed her Social Security information and her husband's had been compromised, according to FOX 26 Houston.

The victim handed over $25,000 in gift cards and converted roughly $185,000 of her savings into gold bars, which she gave to a courier. Her family urged her to contact police after seeing a Friendswood Police Department news release about gold scams.

Investigators identified the courier as Rajdeep Singh, 27, of California. On Sept. 16, Friendswood police, with help from the Meadows Place Police Department, located Singh in Fort Bend County and arrested him. The Galveston County District Attorney's Office charged Singh with theft of property valued between $150,000 and $300,000 with an elderly victim enhancement. His bond was set at $5 million, and an immigration detainer was placed on him as well.

The investigation into Singh led police to Patel.

A pattern of arrests

Patel's arrest is the latest in a string of cases the Friendswood Police Department has pursued this year. In a separate investigation that began in August, police arrested Sukhvinder Singh, 39, of Lathrop, California, on Aug. 25 at a FedEx location inside a Pearland Walmart. He faces charges of theft of more than $300,000 and engaging in organized criminal activity, with bond set at $1 million.

Friendswood investigators then traveled to California and arrested Daman Preet Singh, 35, of Riverside, on Sept. 9 and Mandeep Singh, 40, of Los Angeles, on Sept. 10. Both face charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, with bonds set at $10 million and $5 million. Both were awaiting extradition to Galveston County as of Sept. 16, ABC13 reported.

"There are more victims coming forward; we don't believe this is the end of the line; this is the very start of this specific investigation," Friendswood Detective Steven Sills told ABC13 in September when those arrests were announced.

Investigators suspect the suspects are connected to a larger, well-funded group based in India. In March, Friendswood police announced six arrests in a separate gold scam case linked to approximately $2.8 million in losses among elderly victims in several Texas cities.

What residents should know

The Friendswood Police Department urges residents to talk with elderly family members, friends and neighbors about these schemes. Legitimate law enforcement, federal agencies and financial institutions will never instruct someone to purchase gold, cryptocurrency, gift cards or other assets to protect their money or avoid arrest.

Anyone with information on Patel or who believes they may have been victimized can contact the Friendswood Police Department at 281-996-3300.