retiree loses – Jeffrey Maas, 77, says cybercriminals first tricked him on June 5, 2024 into sending $300,000 to a New Jersey precious-metal dealer under instructions from someone posing as PayPal. He was then shown forged documents and pushed into withdrawing another $90,000
Jeffrey Maas thought he was finally going to enjoy retirement.
When the 77-year-old and his wife stepped away from their working lives. they had plans to use part of their savings to travel to Europe and take foreign cruises. They also wanted to leave inheritance money for their adult kids and establish college funds for their two young grandchildren. “We had this idea of how we wanted to spend our golden years and include a legacy. ” Maas told Business Insider.
Those plans collapsed fast.
Maas says cybercriminals struck twice and stole $390. 000 from his retirement nest egg—about half of his life savings—after he picked up a scam call that arrived by email on June 5. 2024. The fraud began with an email Maas received claiming to acknowledge a $691.05 payment for Norton Antivirus identity theft protection software. He said he did not order the service. The message wasn’t from Norton; it was from the scammers.
The first call led him deeper. Maas, who had not ordered the software, phoned the “helpline” number listed in the email. He reached a man who called himself Jason Green and said he was an agent for PayPal. Green told Maas he could refund the money if he filled out an online form. Maas provided personal banking details. including his bank name and the last four digits of his PNC checking and money accounts. Maas later learned the scammer had taken control of his computer.
Green began the “refund process,” but Maas says the man then claimed he accidentally deposited $300,000 into the checking account. The scammers used computer access to display a falsified PNC statement recording the transaction. Maas was told he could incur penalties from the IRS. and he said the scammer kept warning that he would be fired if the mistake was discovered.
A second scammer, whom the first conman instructed Maas to call, then told him that the only way to refund the $300,000 without penalties from the IRS was to deposit gold.
That same day. Maas went to his regular PNC branch in West Orange. New Jersey. to authorize the wiring of $300. 000 to American Coin and Stamp Co. Inc. a precious-metal dealer based in Clifton. New Jersey. The lawsuit filed by Maas describes the transaction as being driven by an ongoing call between him and Green.
In the complaint, Maas alleges negligence against PNC and American Coin. The suit says that a PNC banker guided Maas through wiring the money to American Coin. while Maas remained on an open phone line with Green throughout the interaction. The lawsuit states the staff member asked no questions about why Maas was depleting his savings to purchase gold. and did not try to assess whether Maas was being unduly influenced. The complaint says: “He did not ask why Mr. Maas was on a call during the entire interaction or who was on the other end of the call. ” and “He did not try to assess if Mr. Maas was being unduly influenced.”.
The suit says American Coin received the wire amount an hour later. and that Maas drove to Clifton to pick up the gold from Jeffrey Angello. owner of American Coin. Maas returned home after Green advised him to wait for someone to collect the coins. A black Nissan with a New Jersey license plate arrived. and Maas placed the coins in the back seat through an open window.
The next day. Green told Maas the process had worked and offered him a $1. 000 reward for his help. which Maas declined. Maas said in the lawsuit that he completed a supposed reward form and was then told another mistake had occurred: $100. 000 had been credited to his account. not $10. 000. Maas says he was shown a forged document depicting his bank account with the latest deposit.
According to the complaint, Green told him he needed to repeat the process from the previous day. Maas then returned to PNC and withdrew $90,000.
The lawsuit alleges the second banker who helped Maas did not ask what the funds were for. or note that Maas had withdrawn the $300. 00 the day before—allegations Maas says should have triggered alarm. Maas argued in his complaint that he requested the wires be recalled, but that the recall was not possible. The complaint says the banker “did not alert Mr. Maas that this withdrawal would essentially wipe out the savings in his checking and money market account.”.
After the withdrawal, Maas returned to Angello and purchased more coins. This time, a green Honda with Pennsylvania plates came to pick up the gold.
“ I was on the phone with Green, but I just figured something wasn’t right,” Maas told Business Insider.
He described what followed as a spiral of stress and fear. He said he spent a sleepless night with “agitation” and “complete humiliation” and then filed a report with the West Orange Police Department. He said the result was far more than financial harm: he also had two severe episodes of fainting. which doctors diagnosed as the result of stress. Maas spent three days in the hospital after both episodes, suffering from severe social anxiety and avoidance.
Officers identified the Honda driver as Patel, leading to his arrest and indictment on a second-degree theft by deception charge. Patel pleaded not guilty, and his next court appearance is set for July 6, 2026.
The lawsuit adds more defendants and alleges more failures. Alongside PNC and American Coin. Maas is also suing a Pennsylvanian named Jaynesh Patel. alleging conspiracy to commit conversion and conspiracy to commit common fraud. Authorities arrested Patel and identified him as someone who allegedly helped retrieve hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold from Maas. Patel has been charged in a separate criminal investigation of the matter.
Green directed the second conman’s calls, and Maas says he stayed connected through the process. He is accused, in the civil complaint, of playing an integral role in the elaborate scheme. The complaint and the criminal case describe the fraud in a way that turns a retirement timeline into a chain of bank interactions. forged documents. and gold handoffs.
Angello and American Coin deny wrongdoing. The coin dealer has denied all wrongdoing. In an interview. Jeffrey Angello. owner of American Coin. said the lawsuit was “absurd.” “I’m livid that they are taking shots at my company and me when we’ve been here for 70 years. ” he said. “My name is being sullied.” He said the case was keeping him up at night and he was considering counter-suing.
PNC has disputed the claims. Business Insider reached out to PNC and Patel’s attorneys in both the civil and criminal cases against him. PNC. which has filed a motion to dismiss the case on legal grounds. said it could not comment on active litigation. Patel’s attorneys did not respond to Business Insider’s request. However, in his answer to the complaint, Patel denied Maas’ allegations.
Maas says he is no longer focused on revenge—just on recovery and awareness. His attorney. Steve Cohen. said scams against older Americans are prolific and accused financial entities such as PNC and American Coin of being as crucial to the success of the con as the frontline criminals. Cohen told Business Insider: “They ignored all the red flags.” He also said Maas had shown “gutsy” courage by coming forward with his story.
Maas said his wife yelled at him at first, and his family has been supportive since, but he also believes he contributed to the outcome. “I’m my own worst enemy. Nobody held a gun to my head, but I was trying to do the right thing,” he said.
He said the practical goal is to recover damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs. And he wants what happened to be useful to other people.
“In retrospect, you just get caught up, and your adrenaline is going, and now it’s caused this situation,” Maas said.
He said he has scaled back expectations for an enjoyable retirement. But he also said that by going public, he hopes people will take note of his personal experience being scammed and recognize exploitative crimes like phishing.
scam retirement savings PNC Bank American Coin and Stamp Co Norton Antivirus PayPal impersonation phishing gold scam West Orange Police Department Jaynesh Patel Jeffrey Maas cybercrime