$900,000 Gold Bar Scam Ends With Teen's Guilty Plea

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Silver Spring woman gave scammers $900,000 in gold bars, and a Brooklyn, New York, teenager pleaded guilty Tuesday in the theft.

Zhenyong Weng, 19, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested in July 2024 for targeting an 82-year-old Silver Spring woman through a government-imposter related gold bar scam. Authorities said it was one of at least 17 similar cases of residents paying money to thieves posing as federal agents.

According to court documents cited by Montgomery Community Media, the scam resulted in the theft of more than $900,000 and an attempt to steal another $2.5 million.

Weng faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. He pleaded guilty to attempted theft and conspiracy to commit theft of more than $25,000 to under $100,000.

“The Maryland State Sentencing Guidelines for non-violent, white-collar crime are typically low and were not designed to deal with international organized crime. The guidelines for this defendant call for a sentence of probation to six months in jail. Due to the complexity of the Gold Bar Scam cases and the vulnerable nature of the 82-year-old victim, the State will be seeking a sentence that far exceeds the sentencing guidelines and reflects the seriousness of these offenses,” County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a statement to MCM.

In early May, the victim was contacted by an unknown individual who told her to transfer her assets into gold bars, to prevent Russia from taking her money.

Charging documents said the woman received an alert on her computer telling her to call a phone number. The alert falsely claimed that criminals had compromised the woman’s computer, bank account and Social Security number.

WTOP reported that over several months, she was told her money was at risk, gave the suspects $46,000 and was persuaded to convert her savings into gold bars that thieves posing as federal agents would pick up for safekeeping.

The victim gave the suspects several packages worth over $900,000 in gold bars.

On July 15, Weng was arrested in Silver Spring while he attempted to collect a package from the victim, valued at more than $70,000, police said.