Scammers took $255K in gold from Sedgwick County woman. Two suspects arrested in sting

Two men who traveled from out-of-state to Sedgwick County multiple times are accused of scamming an 84-year-old woman out of $255,000.

They were arrested after officers set up a sting to catch them on their fourth visit, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Branden Stitt said.

Two men, 27-year-old Krishna Bharanue Daggubati of Cummings, Georgia, and 29-year-old Sai Praveen Kommana of Frisco, Texas, were charged Tuesday with attempted theft by deception from the Sept. 17 sting.

Kommana posted the $125,000 bond on Sept. 18; Daggubati remains jailed.

The meeting was in the parking lot of Dollar General at 5500 North Maize Road, but the suspects were arrested after a traffic stop on north I-235, Capt. Matthew Lynch said.

The victim helped by talking on the phone with the suspected ring leader, Stitt said.

The jailed men could face more charges for the other scams, starting back in May, when people convinced the victim that her Social Security number was compromised and told her she would need to pay to get her identity back. Posing as FBI agents, scammers then convinced her to liquidate her savings into gold and hand it over to them, which she did on three occasions, Stitt said.

“Detectives believe the ringleader of the scam is not in the United States and directed the scheme by communicating with the victim and his couriers,” Stitt said in a news release. “Detectives believe the gold was transferred to overseas accounts.”

Family of the victim contacted the sheriff’s office after “learning all her assets were gone,” Stitt said.

The sting on Sept. 17 also involved the FBI and the Kansas Highway Patrol and its helicopter.

Lynch was optimistic the woman would get her money back. When asked how these types of cases usually end, he said: “Unfortunately, most people do not get their losses recovered in these situations.”

He said no goverment agency will ever call you asking for money.

“People just have to take an interest in thinking ‘I should double check this before I go down this path,’” he said. “Believe your gut.”

Sheriff Jeff Easter said these scammers often target older people.

“These criminals prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” he said. “I encourage family members to watch out for their loved ones, especially the elderly, who are often targeted by these scams.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 2:18 PM.