OXFORD – A Georgia man who tried to defraud an 80-year-old north Mississippi man of $50,000 in cash pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court Friday afternoon.

Nooruddin Bhai Nasruddin, 52, a native of India, who addressed the court through a translator, faces up to 30 years in prison when he returns to court in March 2025 to be sentenced.

“I know it seems like it’s far in the future, but I want to make sure the probation office has enough time to prepare the presentence report,” said Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra Brown. “It is a very important document.”

Prosecutors say Nasruddin and at least one other person conspired to defraud two elderly victims. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Addison said a person will call the victim and tell them their bank account or Social Security number has been compromised.

“They would instruct the victim to withdraw cash, which would then be picked up by a federal agent for safekeeping,” Addison said. “The appellant’s co-conspirator would then send Nasruddin the victim’s name and address.”

Prosecutors said Nasruddin drove from Georgia to North Carolina, where he picked up $90,000 in cash from a 77-year-old female victim. The same scheme made an 80-year-old Lafayette County man withdraw $50,000, and he was prepared to turn it in as well.

But when Nasruddin had car trouble and had to delay the pick-up by a day, he gave the victim time to change his mind. He showed up at the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office the next morning with a cardboard box full of cash. Deputies quickly determined it was a scam. Authorities were on hand to arrest Nasruddin and Chaturali Alauda Roy, 69, when they arrived to collect the cash.

In exchange for his open guilty plea, the government agreed not to charge him with any other crimes related to the Lafayette County case. The settlement does not bind or prevent any other federal judicial district from charging Nasruddin. As of Friday afternoon, Nasruddin was not listed as a party in any of the federal courts in Georgia or North Carolina.

A reserved Nasruddin offered an unprompted apology through his translator during the change of plea hearing.

“I want to say I’m sorry. This is my first and last mistake,” he told Judge Brown.

Nasruddin and Roy were arrested Sept. 5 by the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office on state charges of exploitation of a vulnerable adult, false pretense and conspiracy to commit false pretenses. Because the scam used phones and crossed state lines, federal prosecutors arrested the men on wire fraud charges. They later made initial appearances in federal court on Sept. 16 and were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both men waived their right to preliminary and detention hearings and were ordered held without bail.

The victim told authorities he received a call from someone who said he worked for Amazon asking if he had purchased a $4,000 computer. When the octogenarian said no, the scam went live.

The caller told the man that his accounts had been compromised. The appellants; who said they work for Amazon, the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security Administration; told the victim to withdraw all but $1,500 from the bank and put the money in a cardboard box for safekeeping. The “agent” said that if asked about the withdrawal, the victim should tell people that they are remodeling their house.

It does not appear that federal prosecutors plan to charge Roy. The US Attorney’s Office had until October 24 to obtain an indictment. The deadline passed without any charge.

It was not immediately known if the state charges were presented to a Lafayette County grand jury.