A 77-year-old retiree lost $390,000 of his life savings, nearly half his retirement nest egg, after a scam call about a fake antivirus charge spiralled into a scheme that had him withdrawing gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jeffrey Maas and his wife had planned to spend their retirement travelling through Europe and on cruises, while also setting aside inheritance money for their children and college funds for their two grandchildren, according to Business Insider.
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Those plans are now unlikely to unfold as intended after Maas was targeted twice by the same scam ring.
How the scam began
Maas received an email on June 5, 2024, that appeared to confirm a $691.05 charge for Norton antivirus software. The email was not from Norton but from scammers, Business Insider reported. Maas, a former human relations professional who had not ordered the software, called the "helpline" number listed in the email.
He was connected to a man identifying himself as Jason Green, who claimed to be a PayPal agent and offered to process a refund if Maas filled out an online form. Maas shared details including his bank's name and the last four digits of his PNC checking and money market accounts, unaware that the scammer had also gained remote access to his computer.
A refund that spiralled into a demand for gold
Green then told Maas he had mistakenly deposited $300,000 into his checking account instead of processing the refund, and used his computer access to show Maas a falsified PNC bank statement to back up the claim, according to the report. "He kept saying he would be fired if his mistake was discovered," Maas told Business Insider, describing the scammer as slick and persuasive.
A second scammer then told Maas the only way to reverse the deposit without triggering IRS penalties was to convert the money into gold. The same day, Maas visited his regular PNC branch in West Orange, New Jersey, and authorised a wire transfer of $300,000 to American Coin and Stamp Co, a precious metals dealer in Clifton, New Jersey, to purchase gold on the scammers' instructions.
What the lawsuit alleges
Maas has filed a lawsuit in the Law Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County, accusing PNC and American Coin of negligence, Business Insider reported. He has also named a Pennsylvania resident, Jaynesh Patel, alleging conspiracy to commit conversion and common fraud. Patel has separately been arrested and charged in connection with allegedly helping retrieve gold worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from Maas, according to the report.
The lawsuit claims Maas remained on an open phone line with the scammer throughout the bank transaction, and that the PNC staff member who assisted him did not question why he was withdrawing his savings to buy gold. The complaint states the banker "did not try to assess if Maas was being unduly influenced."
Maas has since decided to speak publicly about the scam in the hope of helping other retirees recognise similar warning signs.
