Brookfield Man Sentenced to 84 Months for Money Laundering Conspiracy

Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on October 6, 2026, United States District Judge Brett H. Ludwig sentenced Ankurkumar Patel (age 44) of Brookfield, Wisconsin, to 84 months imprisonment.

On June 15, 2026, Patel pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy for laundering over $1 million stolen from elderly victims in multiple states who fell prey to a "Phantom Hacker Scam." Phantom Hacker Scams are a type of fraud that primarily targets elderly victims. A participant in the scheme, who is often located overseas, poses as a customer service agent or government official. The purported customer service agent or pseudo government official contacts the victim and falsely claims that the victim's identity or bank account has been hacked or compromised. The fraudster then refers the victim to a co-conspirator posing as a law enforcement agent who directs the victim to move their funds, usually in the form of cash or physical gold, to a third-party, or government account for safekeeping. The co-conspirator then coordinates the transfer of the victim's funds to other participants in the scheme who act as couriers. In many cases, the victims lose their entire life savings to these fraud schemes.

Patel pled guilty to acting as a courier and personally retrieving and laundering over $1 million from multiple elderly victims in several states. Court documents reveal that Patel also conspired to launder the victim money by distributing it to other co-conspirators through anonymous, surreptitious transactions. The money often was then sent to co-conspirators living overseas.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Ludwig noted that Patel targeted elderly victims, whose life savings are now gone because of Patel's conduct, and the conduct of his co-conspirators. Judge Ludwig also ordered Patel to pay over $1.3 million in restitution to the victims.

"It was heartbreaking to hear of the financial devastation these scammers caused to Americans who worked their whole lives to save for retirement," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Schimel. "We will aggressively pursue those who steal from senior citizens."

"Ankurkumar Patel conspired with others to fraudulently obtain and launder over $1 million from elderly victims through a fraud scheme. His scheme included posing as technical support and impersonating government officials to swindle everyday Americans out of their hard-earned money. In some instances, he would retrieve cash and gold from his victims while in other instances he would use couriers to pick up the valuables. Victims were in several states to include Wisconsin," said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr. "The FBI is committed to investigating those who exploit vulnerable individuals for their own personal gain."

If you believe you or someone you know may have fallen victim to a similar scam, please contact the FBI at 414-276-4684 or report online at IC3.gov.

This case was investigated by the FBI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Homeland Security Investigations in St. Louis, Missouri. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter J. Smyczek, District Fraud Counsel for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

# # #

For further information contact:

Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero

(414) 297-1700

Follow us on X