Port Angeles – 39-year-old Pralay Kar of Bothell was sentenced Thursday in Clallam County Superior Court to 12 months and 1 day in prison for four counts of theft in the first degree. The sentence followed a guilty plea.
The charges stemmed from a scheme that targeted elderly individuals in both Clallam and Jefferson counties. Under the scheme, elderly individuals were tricked into handing over thousands of dollars in cash, which they were directed to secure inside a lock box and then cover in duct tape. Gold bars were also handed over.
Kar was identified as being involved in the scheme through video footage. He was later located in Bothell and found in possession of one of the lock boxes.
At sentencing, one victim recounted that she received a telephone call from an individual who identified himself as “John Davis” with the Federal Trade Commission. The caller told the victim that she was being investigated for money laundering and that as a show of good faith, she needed to follow certain steps, including buying a lock box, withdrawing $40,000, putting the money in the lock box, duct taping it shut, and meeting the caller in the parking lot of a local Walgreens to hand off the money.
The victim stated that this occurred three times totaling over $120,000. When the caller asked the victim to turn over her retirement, she knew something was wrong and contacted the police.
Kar addressed the Court at sentencing and stated he was new to the United States and needed work, so he accepted a courier job and did not know that what he was doing was illegal.