‘It was a bad dream…’: US man lost ₹3.7 crore after trusting a fake refund call

A 77-year-old retiree in the US lost nearly half of his life savings after falling victim to an elaborate scam that convinced him to buy and hand over gold worth $390,000 (₹3.7 crore). Now, as he battles the emotional and financial fallout, he hopes sharing his story will prevent others from suffering a similar fate.

Jeffrey Maas, a grandfather of two from New Jersey, said the money was meant for travel plans with his wife, helping his children and setting up college funds for his grandchildren, according to a report by Business Insider.

A fake Norton payment sparked the scam

The ordeal began on June 5, 2024, when Maas received an email acknowledging a payment of $691.05 for Norton Antivirus identity theft protection software.

Believing the charge was unauthorised, he called the helpline number listed in the email. The email was actually sent by scammers.

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Maas reached a man identifying himself as Jason Green, who claimed to be a PayPal representative. Green told Maas he could process a refund if he completed an online form.

During the process, Maas shared details including his bank name and the last four digits of his PNC checking and money market accounts. Unbeknownst to him, the scammer had also gained access to his computer.

The fake refund that never existed

Green then claimed he had accidentally deposited $300,000 (₹2.8 crore) into Maas’ bank account while processing the refund.

Using remote access to Maas’ computer, the scammer allegedly displayed a fake PNC bank statement showing the deposit.

“He kept saying he would be fired if his mistake was discovered,” Maas said, adding that the scammer was slick and solicitous.

A second scammer soon joined the scheme, telling Maas that the only way to return the mistakenly deposited money without attracting penalties from the IRS was to buy gold.

$300,000 wired for gold coins

Following the instructions, Maas visited his local PNC branch in West Orange, New Jersey, and authorised a wire transfer of $300,000 (₹2.8 crore) to American Coin and Stamp Co., a precious-metals dealer in Clifton, New Jersey.

According to a lawsuit later filed by Maas, a bank employee helped process the transfer while Maas remained on an active phone call with the scammer.

The complaint alleges the banker did not question why Maas was moving such a large amount of money or why he was speaking to someone throughout the transaction.

“He did not ask why Mr. Maas was on a call during the entire interaction or who was on the other end of the call,” the complaint stated. “He did not try to assess if Mr. Maas was being unduly influenced.”

An hour later, Maas collected the gold coins from the dealer and returned home. Following the scammer’s instructions, he later handed the coins to a person who arrived in a black Nissan.

A second scam cost him another $90,000

The following day, Green contacted Maas again, claiming he wanted to reward him for helping save his job.

According to Maas, the scammer first promised a $1,000 reward and later increased it to $10,000. But while processing the payment, Green claimed another mistake had occurred and that $100,000 (nearly ₹95 lakh) had accidentally been deposited into Maas’ account.

Once again, Maas was shown what appeared to be a bank document reflecting the deposit.

Believing the story, he returned to PNC and withdrew $90,000 (₹85 lakh). The lawsuit alleges that the second banker did not question the withdrawal despite Maas having moved $300,000 the previous day.

The complaint states that the banker “did not alert Mr. Maas that this withdrawal would essentially wipe out the savings in his checking and money market account.”

Maas then purchased more gold coins and handed them over to a person who arrived in a green Honda with Pennsylvania licence plates.

Doubts finally set in

This time, however, Maas began to suspect something was wrong.

“I was on the phone with Green, but I just figured something wasn’t right,” Maas told Business Insider.

After a sleepless night marked by what he described as “agitation” and “complete humiliation,” he contacted the West Orange Police Department.

Investigators later identified the driver of the green Honda as Jaynesh Patel. Authorities arrested Patel and charged him in connection with the alleged scheme. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 6, 2026.

Lawsuit targets bank, coin dealer and alleged accomplice

Maas has filed a civil lawsuit in New Jersey against PNC Bank, American Coin and Stamp Co., and Patel.

The suit alleges that neither the bank nor the coin dealer took adequate steps to recognise warning signs that he was being manipulated by fraudsters.

After reporting the incident, Maas asked PNC to recall the wire transfers but was informed it could not be done.

“I was hoping it was a bad dream, but it wasn’t,” he said.

PNC has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and declined to comment because of ongoing litigation.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Angello, owner of American Coin, denied any wrongdoing and called the lawsuit “absurd.”

“I’m livid that they are taking shots at my company and me when we’ve been here for 70 years,” he said. “My name is being sullied.”

Emotional toll of losing a lifetime of savings

The scam left Maas dealing with more than just financial losses.

He suffered two severe fainting episodes that doctors attributed to stress, resulting in two separate three-day hospital stays. He also experienced severe social anxiety and withdrawal.

“Of course, my wife yelled at me, but she and my family have been super about what happened, but I’m my own worst enemy. Nobody held a gun to my head, but I was trying to do the right thing,” Maas said.

His attorney, Steve Cohen, argued that financial institutions should do more to detect suspicious transactions involving elderly customers.

“They ignored all the red flags,” he said. “Jeffrey has been gutsy coming forward with his story.”

‘I hope people learn from this’

The loss has forced Maas to rethink his retirement plans. The trips he and his wife once dreamed of taking may never happen, and the inheritance he hoped to leave behind has been significantly reduced.

Still, he says he wants something positive to emerge from the experience.

“In retrospect, you just get caught up, and your adrenaline is going, and now it’s caused this situation,” he said.

By sharing his story publicly, Maas hopes others will recognise the warning signs of phishing and financial scams before it’s too late.