Sting operation prompts high-speed chase; police arrest man believed to have scammed elderly woman

Cape Girardeau police officers conducted a sting operation that led to the arrest of a man alleged to have taken part in a $45,000 theft from an elderly woman.

Following the sting, the man temporarily eluded officers as he led them on a vehicle chase, with speeds reaching more than 90 mph through town, according to documents, but he was later captured in Ste. Genevieve County and transferred to the Cape Girardeau County jail. A judge ordered cash-only bonds totaling $70,000.

Cains Parmar, who is listed as having a Chicago address, is alleged to have been part of a scam against a 66-year-old woman. In that scam, the victim received an email Feb. 23 thanking her for the purchase of $450 and provided an invoice to call if she did not make the purchase, according to a probable-cause statement signed by a police officer whose name was redacted.

Police say the victim called a call center, where the “handler” instructed the victim to install a program that gave the handler access to the victim’s computer, including her financial accounts.

According to the probable-cause document, the victim was instructed to type $450, so she could get her refund. The handler, however, said she made a mistake and actually refunded herself $45,000. The handler told the victim she would need to refund the money or would be fined $13,000 by the IRS.

Through an elaborate process that included taking cash out, taking photos of it inside a box and swapping of passwords, “two younger Indian males” inside a white SUV pulled up to the victim’s house about 12 hours after the initial email and received the cash from the victim.

The victim was told by the handler he was going to call her again Monday “because of them accidentally refunding her an additional $35,000, the same amount the scammer knew the victim had in a retirement account.”

The day after the scammers took her money, the victim realized she had been scammed and called the police, the probable-cause statement asserts. When the alleged scammer called again, the victim reached out to police, who set up the trap.

Police worked with a bank to take photos of cash and, ultimately, gave a box to the courier filled with paper towels, a book and one $1 bill.

The courier was Cains K. Parmar, the only occupant of the vehicle, police said. The victim exchanged the password given, then gave him the box, all while police were watching the transaction.

Once officers tried to pull over the vehicle, Parmar tried to flee on Big Bend Road in Cape Girardeau, passing vehicles in no-passing zones. The officer engaged in the chase then backed off after perceiving it was too dangerous to public safety to continue.

The vehicle description was shared with nearby law enforcement agencies, and Parmar was apprehended in Ste. Genevieve County.

A LinkedIn account belonging to the name of Cains Parmar shows that Parmar lives in Des Plaines, Illinois, a Chicago suburb; is a shift lead at Walgreens and a graduate of DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in information technology.