A Florida man has been arrested in Arizona for allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold from an elderly woman involved in a so-called “ghost hacking” fraud scheme.Gary Christopher, 59, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, was taken into custody on April 10 after he reportedly arrived at a Phoenix-area home and took approximately $600,000 worth of gold bars from the victim. He was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and made his first appearance in federal court on April 13.Christopher works as a courier in a larger scam targeting an elderly woman. The scammer contacted her pretending her identity had been stolen and falsely claiming she needed to keep her money safe.One of the scammers even impersonated a former U.S. attorney, instructing her to convert her savings into gold and hand them over for “safekeeping.” Over time, the victim transferred more than $400,000 in assets before realizing they had been defrauded.Christopher’s character came about in the final stages of planning. Prosecutors said he traveled to Arizona on April 9 to collect additional gold from the woman. However, law enforcement officers were already monitoring the situation and intercepted him when he arrived at the property.Investigators later found evidence that Christopher had received detailed instructions on how to collect the gold and transfer it to other members of the group.Authorities said the case is part of a growing trend of “ghost hacking” scams, in which criminals impersonate government officials or technical support personnel to trick victims, often seniors, into handing over money or valuables. Typically, real government agencies will never ask people to withdraw cash, buy gold, or hand over valuables to a courier delivering to their home.Christopher remains under investigation and authorities are still looking for other suspects involved in the scheme.
