A 78-year-old resident of South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, has lost $683,000 in gold bars after falling victim to a scam involving individuals posing as bank officials.
According to reports, the elderly woman received calls from people pretending to represent American Bank who claimed her identity and Social Security number were compromised. When initial attempts to wire funds failed because her bank rejected transfers to invalid accounts, the callers instructed her to buy gold bullion instead.
The victim was directed to transport the precious metal to specific locations in the Allentown area. She completed four separate deliveries, handing over $550,000 in gold to various couriers. Police later observed her pass an additional $133,000 in gold directly to a man outside her senior living facility.
Authorities have arrested two suspects from New York, identified as 57-year-old Jiwan Chen and 62-year-old Tianhang Zhou. They face charges including theft, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, financial exploitation of a care-dependent person, criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy. Both suspects are being held in the Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail each.
Law enforcement notes that similar fraudulent schemes frequently leverage fears surrounding identity theft to pressure victims into liquidating assets into precious metals.
