An alert gold dealer helped police and the FBI catch two out-of-state men who posed as federal agents and tried to con an 85-year-old D.C. resident out of more than $200,000 in gold bars, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Friday, Aug. 7.
Chu Lin, 50, of Fresh Meadows, New York, and Xiean Cheng, 42, of Cornelius, North Carolina, were arrested at the victim's front door when they arrived to collect the gold, according to MPD's press release. Both face charges of second-degree financial fraud.
The scheme began July 8, when the victim received an email followed by a phone call from people claiming to be federal agents. They told him funds in his bank account were at risk and that he needed to buy gold bars and hand them over to protect his money.
The victim believed the callers and attempted to purchase more than $200,000 worth of gold bars. But the gold dealer recognized the scam and contacted MPD's Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit and the FBI before the transaction was completed.
Investigators then set up at the victim's home and waited.
When Lin and Cheng showed up to collect the gold, officers from MPD's Violent Crime Suppression Division made the arrest. Neither suspect has local ties to D.C. Federal authorities say many gold courier operations originate overseas and rely on domestic accomplices to handle in-person pickups from victims.
A growing national threat
The D.C. case fits a pattern that has cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars. Gold courier scams resulted in more than $262 million in losses nationwide between January and October 2025 alone, according to FBI data reported by KCRA.
The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report found that government impersonation schemes generated 32,400 complaints across all age groups, with reported losses of nearly $798 million. Among victims 60 and older, the FBI logged more than 8,600 government impersonation complaints. The Federal Trade Commission reported that older adults are 36% more likely than younger people to lose money to a government impersonation scam.
"The best way to avoid scams is to ignore unsolicited communications, especially calls from unknown numbers," FBI Washington Field Office special agent Ron Miller said in an FBI feature on elder fraud. "The longer scammers talk to victims, the more successful they are with the scam."
Under D.C. Code § 22-3601, fraud against a victim aged 65 or older can carry up to 1.5 times the maximum prison sentence and fine. Whether prosecutors will seek that enhancement against Lin and Cheng has not been announced.
How to report
MPD asks anyone with information about this case to call (202) 727-9099 or text a tip to 50411. The department offers a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment.
Residents who believe they or a family member have been targeted by a similar scam can contact the Department of Justice's National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311 or file a report at ic3.gov.
