A California man has pleaded guilty to a gold bar scam that bilked a Montgomery County, Maryland, woman of nearly $800,000.
In court on Friday, Wenhui Sun, 34, of Lake Arbor, California, pleaded guilty to multiple theft charges in a case that tried to swindle more than $1.1 million from the woman living in a Silver Spring community for adults 55 years old and older.
Sun was arrested in March of this year after the woman went to police saying she had been contacted by a man who identified himself as being with the Office of the Inspector General with the Federal Trade Commission. He told her that she was the victim of identity theft, which had led to a federal investigation involving drugs and money laundering.
The woman was directed to transfer her assets into gold bars, which were supposedly going to be picked up by an FBI agent to take to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Sun and an accomplice posed as FBI agents and picked up the gold bars from the woman, who had been told she was giving them to the authorities for safekeeping.
The woman complied with the demands and handed off two separate deliveries of gold bars to the fake FBI agents, worth nearly $800,000. She then realized she was being scammed and called Montgomery County police.
Police identified the vehicles used to pick up the gold bars and Wu through an investigation, including photos from the guard booth at the woman’s gated community.
On March 18, 2024, the woman, who by this time had been working with financial crimes detectives, told the scammers that she bought more gold bars.
Sun was then arrested by police when he came to pick up the gold bars.
He told police he had been directed by a friend from China “to drive to Maryland from New York, pick up the package, and return to New York,” according to court documents. Though he claimed to not know what was in the packages he picked up, prosecutors alleged that “couriers know about the crime they are participating in, which is why they are willing to travel great distances to pick up packages.”
Officials believe this particular theft was just one of many in an international organized crime ring.
At a news conference in August, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said he believes there are more than 20 victims of this scheme in the county.
“Make no mistake about it, this is organized crime at the highest level,” McCarthy said. “The reality is, once you’re a victim of one of these scams, the chances of getting your money back is not high.”
In July of this year, another Montgomery County woman was scammed out of $900,000 that had been transferred into gold bars.
“The reality is, getting back those gold bars is very tough. … Are they in the country? Have they been melted down, changed into other forms? They are essentially not traceable,” McCarthy told WTOP at the time.
“We are pleased that the first gold bar scam case to enter the courts in Montgomery County has resulted in a conviction. As in this case, the scam often targets vulnerable victims who lose their life savings at a time when they are most dependent upon those funds to sustain themselves,” said McCarthy in a statement.
“This is significant organized crime on an international level, and we will be seeking a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the impact on this victim,” he added.
Sun faces up to 80 years in prison. He returns to court for a sentencing hearing on Dec. 9.
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