Two men accused of impersonating federal officers have been taken into custody after police say they tried to trick an 85-year-old Washington, D.C., resident into surrendering more than $200,000 in gold bars.
The Metropolitan Police Department identified the suspects as Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina. Authorities said the pair was arrested after allegedly arriving at the elderly man’s home to pick up the gold.
Both suspects are facing charges of second-degree financial fraud.
Authorities said scammers pretending to be federal agents directed an 85-year-old man to protect the money in his bank account by buying more than $200,000 in gold bars. (Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Police said the alleged gold bar scam started on July 8, when the victim was first contacted by email and then by phone by individuals claiming to represent the federal government.
Investigators said the callers warned the man that the money in his bank account was at risk of being lost unless he converted it into gold bars and handed them over for safekeeping.
The victim, convinced the request was real, tried to buy more than $200,000 in gold bars, police said. The transaction was stopped after a gold dealer spotted red flags and warned him that he was likely being targeted in a scam.
EXCLUSIVE: FBI ADDS ALLEGED COVID FRAUDSTER ACCUSED OF TAKING $5M FROM KIDS’ MEAL PROGRAM TO MOST WANTED LIST
FBI agents assisted the Metropolitan Police Department in an investigation into an alleged scheme targeting an 85-year-old man for more than $200,000 in gold bars, police said. (Photo by Yasin Ozturk /Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Thinking that the scam was legitimate, the victim attempted to purchase over $200,000 worth of gold bars and was alerted by the gold dealer that he was being scammed,” police said.
The gold dealer then alerted MPD’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI, according to authorities.
The Metropolitan Police Department said investigators worked with the FBI after a gold dealer alerted authorities to an alleged scam targeting an 85-year-old man. (Getty Images)
When the alleged scammers later arrived at the victim’s home to retrieve the gold bars, officers with MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division arrested Lin and Cheng, police said.
