A Red Bluff couple has been arrested on suspicion of pulling a major fraud on some elderly victims. Redding Police started investigating in April on a report that a Redding resident had been ripped off for $60,000 worth of cash and gold. The suspects were Chintal and Shriram Upadhyay. The investigation revealed that Shriram Upadhyay was also a suspect in a $40,000 fraud of an elderly victim in Walnut Creek. In both thefts, computer malware was used to open communication with the victims. On Tuesday a search warrant was served at a Red Bluff motel where the couple was staying and a large amount of cash, gold and other evidence was seized. Both suspects were booked into jail for theft by false pretenses, grand theft and financial elder abuse.
-Steve Gibson