A Florida court on June 27 will hear a case against two Indians, including Parth Patel – the son of former BJP MLA Jyotsana Patel. He is facing felony larceny charges against a 65-year-old woman.
Patel and his alleged accomplice Jayarami Reddy Kuruguntla– who is facing felony charges for organised fraud– have been accused of scamming the woman of USD 80,000 by making her believe her bank account was involved in a transaction related to “child pornography”.
Arrested on June 1 for the incident reported on May 25, the duo allegedly made a scam call to the woman.
Scared she would be entangled in a legal case, the woman agreed to pay the accused, according to officials.
Later, they told the woman they would contact her for a second installment. Patel and Kuruguntla were apprehended when they drove to her house to get the second installment.
According to the Ocala Police Department, during their questioning in the Marion County Jail, where they had been transferred after being apprehended, Patel told police he had only arrived in Ocala to have dinner with a friend. The two were “supposed to pick up a package from the victim meant for a friend in India,” local news portal WCJB TV20 quoed the police as saying. A police official said the accused were released from jail on a bond of USD 30,000 for Kuruguntla and USD 20,000 for Patel.
Despite repeated attempts, Patel’s mother and BJP leader Jyotsana did not comment on the charges her son is facing.