Anuj Modi is before a Smith County jury on an organized-crime charge; a separate case charges him with financial abuse of an elderly person. A 74-year-old Longview widow told jurors he collected about $103,000 in gold and $15,000 cash after callers threatened her.
Prosecutors allege Modi acted as a courier. A DPS trooper stopped his rental car on Interstate 20 on March 3, and jurors saw video of a shoebox containing cash and gold bars and coins. A DPS agent testified that Modi’s phone held WhatsApp chats, GPS coordinates and a photograph connected to a separate $30,000 pickup in Big Spring.
The widow testified that callers claiming to represent the Federal Trade Commission and federal investigators said her accounts were tied to drug trafficking and child pornography, demanded secrecy and threatened arrest. She said she first sent about $13,000 in gift cards before the callers directed her to buy gold and withdraw cash. Modi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty; no verdict is reported.
