Alleged Federal Impersonators Arrested in $200K Gold Scam Targeting Elderly D.C. Man

Washington, D.C. authorities have announced the arrest of two men accused of impersonating federal agents in an alleged scheme to defraud an 85-year-old city resident of more than $200,000 in gold bars. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reported the arrests on Friday.

Chu Lin, 50, from Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, from Cornelius, North Carolina, were taken into custody. Both individuals face charges of second-degree financial fraud.

Details of the Deceptive Scheme

The elaborate deception reportedly began on July 8. According to police accounts, the victim initially received an email, followed by phone calls, from individuals claiming to be federal agents.

These purported agents allegedly informed the elderly man that funds in his bank account were "in jeopardy of being lost." To safeguard his assets, they instructed him to convert his money into gold bars and then surrender them.

The victim, believing the instructions were legitimate, proceeded to attempt the purchase of gold bars exceeding $200,000 in value. However, the gold dealer recognized the signs of a potential scam and alerted the victim to the fraudulent nature of the request.

Following the gold dealer's intervention, the Metropolitan Police Department's Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), were notified of the attempted fraud.

When the alleged scammers subsequently arrived at the victim's residence to collect the gold bars, officers from the MPD's Violent Crime Suppression Division were present and apprehended Lin and Cheng.