2 New York men attempted to scam $750K in gold bars from elderly Illinois woman
Two men were arrested after attempting to scam an elderly Lincolnshire, Illinois, woman out of $750,000 worth of gold bars this week, according to the village.
Chen Xinwei, 34, and Tangchao Huang, 55, both from Brooklyn, New York, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with attempted theft over $500,000 but less than $1 million.
On Monday, the BTRC Coin and Gold store in Lincolnshire alerted police of a potential scam involving the victim who bought the gold bars. After speaking with her, officers realized she was being scammed.
According to the village, the victim said she bought the gold with the intent to pay someone who claimed they were a government employee and threatened to arrest her family unless the payment was made.
The person then made arrangements with the victim to pick up the gold the next day. That's when the LPD, along with North Regional Major Crimes Task Force members and FBI agents, arrested Xinwei and Huang.
Both appeared in appeared in court on Wednesday.
No further information was immediately available.