Gold bar scam deprives 82-year-old woman of $900,000, Maryland police say

Investigators accused Weng of acting as a “courier” in a scam that involved secretly exchanging gold bars in parking lots and using code words like “watermelon” to communicate. The group stole more than $900,000 worth of gold bars and cash from their target – an 82-year-old woman – and nearly stole another $2.6 million, according to court records. As in the earlier case, police said, investigators learned of the fraud scheme, turned the tables by posing as the victim and arrested a suspect after he drove into a parking lot thinking he would get more gold bars. Court records show no indication the cases are related.

Weng’s defense attorney argued Tuesday that his client should be released from jail pending the outcome of further court proceedings, but pointed out that his client is only charged with attempted theft. “It’s certainly not the case that a $900,000 fraud scheme by an 82-year-old in Montgomery County is not serious conduct,” said attorney Andrew Treske. “I think the question is, ‘To what extent was Mr. Weng involved in this?'”

Treske said there was no evidence that Weng orchestrated the fraud or communicated with the mastermind behind it.

The judge asked how he could be in the dark.

“So he drove here from New York to pick up a package from an elderly lady and doesn’t know that there’s probably something illegal going on?” Oliver asked. “I don’t know.”

In court documents, investigators described the fraud as similar to one in March that defrauded a resident of the Leisure World community in Montgomery County out of $789,000.

In the new case, the woman was working on her computer when she received a “website alert” claiming that “criminals had flagged her computer, bank account and Social Security number,” investigators wrote in court documents. She called a number provided and was told that many others were also affected and that she needed to secure her money. Around April 22, police said, a person in the group who called himself “Tracy” persuaded the victim to transfer $46,000 to another account “to prevent Russia from stealing it,” investigators alleged. The scammers later persuaded her to buy gold bars from legitimate precious metals dealers and have them shipped to her home.

In court documents, investigators broadly described the scam as a “government fraud scam,” in which scammers pose as officials from the FBI, Justice Department, Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission or other agencies and convince victims that their bank funds are not safe. and they should liquidate in gold bars, bank checks or cash. Once the gold bars arrive at the victims’ homes, the scammers convince their victims to hand them over – in secret meetings, as the alleged criminals lie in wait for them – with the understanding that the victims will get their holdings back when everything is safe.

“Doctors, lawyers, executives. I’ve seen just about every victim,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Keith Custer of gold bullion and similar scams, adding, “Once the victim is hooked, the scammer keeps going.”

In the Weng case, police said, a man Posing as an “undercover agent,” he met the victim at a Wendy’s restaurant on May 3 and confiscated gold bars valued at $266,948.75. The scammers persuaded her to buy gold bars worth several hundred thousand dollars, met her at a mall and stole the bars, police said.

Still in a bind and still afraid of losing her savings if she did nothing, the woman purchased another $2.55 million worth of gold bars from a Massachusetts-based company. But she became suspicious, police said, and the new gold orders were stopped before they were shipped. When the woman began cooperating with investigators, she spoke with the scammers, according to court documents. The courier eventually agreed to pick up a gold bar worth about $75,000 from her on July 15.

But the courier was instead on his way to an undercover operation, police say.

A detective “posed as the victim and placed a box allegedly containing the gold bar in the back seat of the victim’s vehicle,” charging documents say.

The detective then drove to an agreed-upon meeting point, parked and waited for a man. The man arrived, said the code word “watermelon,” opened a rear door, grabbed the box and drove away – only to be quickly arrested by plainclothes police officers monitoring the parking lot, court documents say.

Weng was questioned by detectives “and admitted that he was supposed to meet the victim to pick up a package and receive $500 to $1,000 in return,” police said.

When he was detained, Weng said he was born in China, lived in Brooklyn with his mother and had been there for seven years. He said he worked as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. In court on Tuesday, a corrections officer said Weng would not give out his parents’ contact information because he did not want them to be called.

In the earlier case, Wenhui Sun, who was first arrested in March, was indicted on May 2 by a Montgomery County grand jury on four counts of theft, court records show. He remains in custody without bail and is scheduled for a hearing on Dec. 2.

Sun’s attorney Andrew Jezic declined to comment Tuesday.

Sean Petty, a financial crimes investigator for the Montgomery Police Department, said the county’s relative wealth may play a role in residents being targeted. He said victims tend to be older, trusting and have a lot of money saved up. His advice: “If someone contacts you via text, email, phone call or any other means and says they are from a federal or state agency and you need to buy gold for safekeeping, you should immediately assume it is a scam.”

And if in doubt, he added, call the police.