California man sentenced after nearly defrauding a Colorado couple

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) – A California man will spend about a month in jail 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 giving someone they did not know a large sum of money.

The couple received a pop-up on their computer, asking them to call “Microsoft Support Services” to find a solution that emergency services said was a bogus problem.

The California man, identified as 28-year-old Arashdeep Dhaliwal, then traveled to their home and collected $30,000 from them. A few days later he contacted them asking for another $70,000 to resolve their “bank account problem.”

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

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

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

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