Hyderabad man charged in US for gold fraud, posed as CIA agent
HYDERABAD: A Hyderabad-based man has been charged in the United States for allegedly posing as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent and stealing gold worth $97,240 from an elderly victim in Missouri.
The Clay County prosecutor’s office has charged Sai Praveen Kommana, 29, with financial exploitation of the elderly, an A-level felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 to 30 years. Prosecutors set his bond at $200,000 on March 21.
Linked to wider fraud involving elderly victim
Investigators said Kommana was earlier arrested in September 2025 along with Krishna Bharanue Daggubati, 27, by Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies. The duo allegedly defrauded an 84-year-old woman of more than $255,000 in a social security scam.
Authorities said the victim was misled into believing her savings were at risk. She was persuaded to convert money into gold and hand it over in multiple transactions to men posing as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.
Detectives intercepted a fourth attempted transaction and arrested both accused. While Daggubati later pleaded guilty, Kommana pleaded not guilty and secured bail.
Federal indictment names additional accused
In December 2025, a federal grand jury in Wichita indicted Kommana along with Chagamreddy Venkateswara Reddy for allegedly conspiring to defraud the same victim.
Prosecutors said they convinced the victim to purchase gold worth $255,287 and hand it over, falsely claiming it would be kept safe by the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes the gold was transferred to overseas accounts. Investigators have indicated that the alleged ringleader of the scam is outside the United States.
Local media reports said that while Kommana is linked to a broader wire fraud network, he is not believed to be the main perpetrator.
