Two suspects arrested for posing as federal agents in $200K gold fraud
Police arrested Chu Lin and Xiean Cheng after they pretended to be federal officials and tried to obtain over $200,000 in gold bars from an 85-year-old Washington, D.C., resident.
Investigators disclosed that Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, masqueraded as federal agents to swindle an 85-year-old man in Washington, D.C. The fraud began on July 8, when the pair emailed the victim and later called, alleging his bank account faced imminent loss. They instructed him to secure his funds by purchasing gold bars, prompting the elderly man to arrange a transaction worth more than $200,000.
A gold dealer, noticing irregularities, alerted the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI. Law enforcement tracked the scammers to the victim’s residence, where MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division arrested both men. Both are charged with second-degree financial fraud.
Why it matters
The case highlights how scammers exploit seniors by impersonating authorities to steal large sums of money.
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