California man pleads guilty in ‘phantom hacker’ scheme with Arizona victim

A California man pleaded guilty last month to federal charges related to a “phantom hacker” scheme in which an Arizona resident was victimized, officials announced.

Los Angeles resident Ajay Kumar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on July 28, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The 24-year-old’s co-conspirators posed as government employees and contacted victims falsely claiming their accounts were compromised, according to the plea.

They told victims they needed to move their money into a government account to keep it safe. After being in contact for weeks, the co-conspirators convinced some of the victims to withdraw cash or purchase gold before collecting it while posing as government agents.

A s part of his plea, Kumar admitted to traveling to locations around the U.S. to pick up cash and gold from victims before delivering them to his co-conspirators in the scheme.

In December 2024, he attempted to collect around $500,000 in gold bullion from a victim in Arizona.

Kumar is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8.

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