By William D. Slicker
The first cryptocurrency money laundering case in the United States happened right here in Florida.[1] While his 92 year old grandmother was close to death in a hospital, Austin Matthew Brooks used her credit cards to buy cryptocurrency, computers, and goods from Home Depot. When the sheriffs first questioned the grandmother, she said, “He’s a thief. I hope you get that fucker.”[2] The grandmother lived long enough to testify against him at trial. She died shortly after the trial. Her last words were, “I hope that fucker dies in hell.”[3] Brooks was convicted of exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult, fraudulent use of personal information, and money laundering. His appeal was denied.[4] From prison, he complained to his girlfriend about his grandmother, “That bitch lived just long enough to testify against me.”[5]
Another scam that involved defrauding the elderly In Florida was a scheme in which individuals from call centers in India would cold call the elderly living in zip codes known to contain wealthy elderly people, such as Sun City. They would pose as government agents and convince the elderly to convert their bank money into gold bars that would then be picked up by a courier or money mule. The gold bars would then be melted down and made into jewelry, which would be worn by people traveling to India.[6] When a Tampa Bay area victim alerted the sheriff, the officers loaded bars of gold soap into a package that was picked up by Pranav Patel.[7] Mr. Patel had driven down the east coast, making several pick-ups before arriving in the Tampa Bay area. Mr. Patel was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sentenced to six years and three months.[8] At the time of his arrest, Mr. Patel had collected $2.4 million from 11 victims and he had a plane ticket on him for a flight to Bangladesh.[9]
It is estimated that the elderly are scammed out of $10 million a month in Hillsborough County[10] and out $3 billion a year in the United States.[11]
If you have older clients, please warn them about the many scams that are targeting the vulnerable elderly. Maybe give them a copy of this article.
[1] Abad, Dylan, “Tampa Man Exploits Thousands of Dollars Out of Elderly Victim, Deputies Say”, WFLA (Apr. 9, 2022). https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/tampa-man-exploits-thousands-of-dollars-out-of-elderly-victim-deputies-say/
[2] Detective Phillip Klimpel, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Speaking at Pinellas County Guardian Association conference (Sept. 18, 2026).
[3] Detective Phillip Klimpel, ibid.
[4] Brooks v. State, 378 So. 3d 666 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024)
[5] Detective Phillip Klimpel, supra.
[6] Detective Phillip Klimpel, supra.
[7] Detective Phillip Klimpel, supra.
[8] U.S. v. Patel, Case 8:23-cr-00468 (M.D. Fla. 2023). Press Release, New Jersey Man Sentenced to More Than 6 Years in Federal Prison for Involvement in Elder Fraud Scheme, U.S. Attorney’s Office (June 11, 2025).
[9] Detective Phillip Klimpel, supra.
[10] Detective Phillip Klimpel, supra.
[11] Barrish, Cris, “$2.1M in gold bars: Delaware woman among victims fleeced in fraud scam targeting older adults.” WHYY (June 2, 2025). https://whyy.org/articles/delaware-fraud-scam-gold-bars-older-adults/
