Fake FBI Agents Came for His Gold. Police Were Waiting.

By Jordan Reyes. Aug 14, 2026

The Phone Call Said His Money Was in Danger

It started on July 8 with an email. An 85-year-old man in Washington, DC, received a message from someone claiming to be a federal agent. The message said the funds in his bank account were ‘in jeopardy of being lost’ and that he needed to act quickly to protect them.
Follow-up phone calls reinforced the same claim. The solution they offered was specific: he should buy gold bars and hand them to the agents for safekeeping. He believed them.

$200,000 in Gold Bars

The man set out to purchase more than $200,000 worth of gold bars, following the instructions he had been given. The gold dealer he approached did not.
The dealer recognized the scheme as a version of the government impersonation scam that federal agencies, including the FBI and the FTC, have repeatedly warned targets older Americans. Rather than completing the sale, the dealer first alerted the victim, then contacted MPD’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI.

Waiting at the Door

Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, arrived at the victim’s Washington home to collect what they believed would be $200,000 in gold bars. Officers with MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division were already there.
Both men were arrested at the door and charged with second-degree financial fraud under DC law. They have not been convicted and are presumed innocent. The victim was not harmed and did not lose money.

The Scam Behind the Scam

In the government impersonation scam, a caller claims to represent the IRS, FBI, Social Security Administration, or a similar agency and asserts that the victim’s money, identity, or freedom is at risk unless they act immediately. Federal agencies have warned that the tactic increasingly targets older adults.
The gold-bar version is a specific evolution. Victims are told to convert cash to gold because it is hard to trace and easy to transport, and the instruction to hand the gold to an ‘agent’ in person is the final step, the point at which the money leaves the victim’s control for good. In this case, the gold dealer was the break in the chain.

Charges Filed, Case Open

Lin and Cheng were both charged with second-degree financial fraud as of the arrest. The Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI said they were continuing to investigate whether the two were part of a larger network.
The victim’s identity was not released; he was described only as an 85-year-old Washington resident. His money was not taken, and he was at home when the two men knocked.

References: 2 accused of trying to scam over $200K in gold bars from 85-year-old man in DC | Two men accused of posing as federal agents arrested after allegedly targeting 85-year-old in $200K gold scam | Suspects Arrested in Attempted Gold Bar Scam