Carissa Snow and Reese Lightner each face a felony charge of theft by false representation in Racine County. They were arrested in late May at a rural Kenosha County gas station after Racine County sheriff's deputies, working with the victims, set up a sting, according to a criminal complaint.

The victims, a Burlington couple, had already handed over more than $620,000 and were about to deliver another $380,000 when deputies moved in, prosecutors say. Video of the operation shows the couple meeting a person at the Benson Corners convenience store in Kenosha County to deliver a package before deputies swarmed the scene and arrested Snow and Lightner.

The case is part of a broader pattern of gold bar scams that have swept Wisconsin. According to a tally by 12 News, more than 60 victims in the state have lost more than $21 million in such schemes, which have spawned several separate criminal cases and defendants across the country.

The scam typically begins with a message claiming the victim's Amazon account or credit card has been hacked. Victims call a number and are eventually transferred to someone posing as a federal official involved in an identity theft investigation. The caller convinces victims to liquidate their assets and convert them to gold, which is then picked up by couriers. Government officials warn they will never ask anyone to buy gold or other precious metals.

In the Racine County case, Snow and Lightner made their preliminary appearance Monday from federal custody in Florida. Commissioner Sally Hoelzel held Snow over for trial. Snow's attorney declined to comment after the hearing.

Lightner, who initially planned to represent himself, ultimately decided to wait for a public defender. He told the court his notes were taken from him while in custody.

"Frankly, I've never even been in a situation like this," Lightner said over Zoom. "I did want to point out that there were some errors and omitted information in the criminal complaint."

Court records show the public defender's office has made nearly 700 attempts to find Lightner a lawyer. He also faces a felony charge in Dane County for a similar alleged scheme.

The federal indictment was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, which said a Homeland Security Task Force investigation led to the multi-defendant indictment. Details of the federal charges against Lightner, Snow and the eight others were not immediately available.

Anyone who believes they have been targeted by a similar scam is urged to report it to the FBI at ic3.gov.