DC Gold Bar Scam: Two Arrested

Two men accused of posing as federal agents were arrested after allegedly trying to scam an 85-year-old Washington, D.C., man into handing over more than $200,000 in gold bars, police said Friday.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, were taken into custody after allegedly showing up at the victim’s home to collect the gold. Authorities said the arrests came when the two men arrived to retrieve the bars.

According to investigators, the scheme began on July 8, when scammers first contacted the man by email and then by phone while pretending to be federal agents. Police said the callers told him that funds in his bank account were “in jeopardy of being lost” unless he took steps to secure the money. They allegedly instructed him to do that by purchasing gold bars and turning them over.

The use of gold in the alleged fraud reflects a tactic that law enforcement agencies have increasingly warned about in recent years: persuading victims to convert money into a portable asset that can be picked up quickly and is difficult to trace. Scammers often rely on urgency, authority and fear to isolate victims from outside advice, especially older adults who may be less familiar with evolving fraud schemes.

Believing the story was legitimate, the victim attempted to buy more than $200,000 worth of gold bars. Police said the plan was interrupted when the gold dealer recognized the apparent scam and alerted him before the purchase was completed. That intervention prevented the loss from going further and set the next part of the response in motion.