RICHMOND, Texas — Several families are speaking out after someone stole expensive gold necklaces right off their parents’ necks. One of those thefts was even captured on camera. They’re now worried that the suspects are targeting older parents in the Richmond area’s South Asian community.
The three thefts happened last weekend in the Aliana neighborhood while the victims were just out for a morning or evening stroll.
“They were traumatized completely that day and even till today,” said Ivotsna Malladi, whose parents were among the victims.
Malladi is concerned about safety, so she asked us not to show her face, but she’s sharing her parents’ story, hoping to prevent others from falling victim.
Malladi said last weekend, her mom and dad were taking separate morning walks when they were approached by a gray car. She said her mom had the first encounter.
“There were two females and one male,” she said “The lady in the front seat, she got down and said, ‘Wait, wait we need to talk to you’ and then she came down and handed off a fake gold chain put it around her neck, and then started saying 'My mom is super sick so you need to pray for her. Please pray with us’ and suddenly, my mom could sense something being cut off and that was her gold chain.”
Malladi said her mom’s traditional gold wedding necklace, known as a 'mangalsutra' was taken right off her neck. The suspects took off and minutes later, Malladi said they targeted her dad, too.
“The same story continued with my dad asking for help,” Malladi said. “She hugs him and cuts both of his chains."
That interaction was caught on another neighbor's surveillance video. Both times, she said the thieves distracted their victims by giving them cheap golden bangles as they cut off the real gold necklaces, which are worth thousands of dollars.
Less than 24 hours later, Lunaid Ahcom said the same thing happened to her mother-in-law.
“They kept asking her for her age and, ‘Are you from India?' Please pray for my mom and in the process, though she had a scarf around her head, they still managed to access the chain and took off the chain."
Hema Swamy's mother. also fell victim, even through Swamy was right there with her at the time.
"The lady rolls down her window and asked is there a hospital and automatically because it’s in your neighborhood, in the morning, Swamy said. “You don't think of this is something to be scared of."
She said while she and her mom were distracted, the thieves managed to steal her mom’s wedding necklace worth $10,000
Even worse, she said -- they've stolen her peace of mind.
“The paranoia has set in and it's very, very unnerving,” Swamy said. "But I'm glad that there was no physical harm. That's what I keep telling my mom."
These families say they've heard of similar crimes in North Texas. It's not clear if the same suspects are involved.
All three families have filed police reports and the Ft. Bend County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating.