KENTWOOD — A New Jersey man was arrested for scamming an elderly Tangipahoa Parish resident out of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold, deputies said Wednesday. 

Nigam Bhatt, 25, was arrested on extortion charges after detectives in Collin County, Texas, contacted Tangipahoa Parish deputies about an investigation into a gold scam operation.

According to officials, the scheme saw victims being contacted and told their bank accounts and social security benefits are frozen and can only be released with an exchange of gold. One of these victims was a senior citizen from Kentwood. 

Tangipahoa Parish deputies were able to learn about the scammer’s next trip locally.

On Tuesday, April 7, with assistance from the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, Bhatt was taken into custody before he could take more than $800,000 in gold from the Kentwood victim.

Bhatt lives in Parsippany, New Jersey, but is in the U.S. on a work visa from India.