California Man Sentenced After Nearly Defrauding Colorado Couple

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A California man will spend approximately a month in prison and pay thousands of dollars in restitution. This comes after he almost scammed a Colorado couple. according to a social media post from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.

The sheriff’s office says that in March 2024, an 85-year-old man and an 83-year-old woman contacted police after they gave someone they didn’t know a large amount of money.

The couple received a pop-up window on their computer, asking them to call “Microsoft Support Services” to resolve what agents said was a fake issue.

The California man, identified as Arashdeep Dhaliwal, 28, traveled to their home and charged them $30,000. He then reached out several days later asking for an additional $70,000 to resolve his “bank account problem.”

The sheriff’s office says Dhaliwal then told the couple to purchase that amount in gold, after their banks denied their withdrawal request.

In April 2024, investigators were able to arrest Dhaliwal and return the gold to him.

Dhaliwal pleaded guilty to one count of theft after a plea deal. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $30,000 restitution.

“It can often be difficult for fraud victims to come forward, feeling guilty or ashamed that they fell for a scam,” said LCSO Investigations Sgt. Rita Servin in press release. “That’s exactly what scammers want. They isolate their victims and make them feel helpless. “They scare people into giving money to scammers and use psychological manipulation to discourage them from reporting the crime.”

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office says Dhaliwal may have done something similar in other areas. If you have any information, you are asked to call the sheriff’s office at 970-498-5100.

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