Man sentenced in Westerville gold bar scam

A man accused of posing as a federal officer while attempting to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly Westerville woman has been sentenced to jail.

Authorities said the man, identified as Ankush, used fraudulent U.S. Marshals identification to convince the woman to withdraw $400,000 from her bank account and purchase 80 gold bars. He allegedly told her the transaction would protect her investments.

Police arrested the suspect before he obtained the gold.

The man pleaded guilty to attempted theft from a person in a protected class, a second-degree felony. A judge sentenced him to 180 days in jail.

Because he is not a U.S. citizen, he was transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.