SYLVANIA TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Sylvania Township man is having trouble sleeping after being scammed out of his life savings.
Rama Bhamidipati, a software engineer, came to the U.S. from India on a work visa 10 years ago.
He dreamed of saving enough money so he could go back home to his family wealthy and successful, so he worked long hours and eventually saved up close to $180,000.
But when he picked up the phone on the afternoon of June 13, his hard work was in jeopardy.
“I received a call from a local police station number,” Bhamidipati said.
The voice on the other end of the line claimed to be someone from the Sylvania Township Police Department. They said they needed to transfer him to an FBI agent, and then someone from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after that.
One by one, they all accused him of some very serious crimes.
Bhamidipati said he was told “there were some drugs being distributed under your [Social Security Number]. There are some terrorist activities going on.”
He was told authorities were prepared to arrest him if he didn’t cooperate. But, they said there was a way to avoid that.
“First thing is we need to get you a new SSN and you need to freeze all your accounts and everything,” Bhamidipati said.