Editor’s note: This story, originally published at 3:37 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2025, was updated at 4:06 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2025, to add the results of the defendant’s sentencing hearing.
A New York man pled guilty Tuesday for his role in a 2024 case involving a gold bar scheme that robbed an 82-year-old Silver Spring woman of more than $900,000, according to a Tuesday statement from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On Thursday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Sharon Burrell sentenced Zhenyong Weng, 19, to 10 years in prison suspending, all but 18 months to serve, the state’s attorney’s office said Thursday.
County State’s Attorney John McCarthy was disappointed by the sentencing and said the state had asked for the maximum penalty of 20 years.
“This international organized criminal activity is targeting seniors who have a very slim chance of ever recovering their money. We are seeing victims lose their life savings,” McCarthy said in a press release. “The State finds the facts of these cases and the tactics used by the scammers very troubling. We urge the community to be vigilant.”
Weng was scheduled to begin a jury trial Tuesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville, but instead entered a guilty plea, according to the statement. Weng was charged with attempted theft and conspiracy to commit theft of $25,000 to $100,000 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“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,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in the statement.
Weng was arrested July 15 for attempting to collect a gold bar worth more than $75,000 from the 82-year-old-woman, according to charging documents. Weng’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment via phone call Wednesday afternoon.
The woman told police that while using her computer, she received an alert that said criminals had flagged her computer, bank account and Social Security number. The alert also directed her to call a phone number, according to the charging documents.
When she called the number, she was told that she needed to secure her money, the documents said.
In April, another unknown suspect called the woman and directed her to transfer $46,000 to another account to prevent “Russia from stealing it.” The woman transferred the money, and it was stolen, according to charging documents.
According to the documents, the woman was unaware her money was being stolen and continued to follow the suspects’ instructions. Eventually, another suspect persuaded her to remove money from her bank account by claiming it would prevent the government from taking her savings while she was receiving a new Social Security number.
While communicating with the unknown suspects, the woman was persuaded to buy gold bars from several precious metal dealers. One of these purchases in April cost more than $266,000, and the gold was delivered to her house in May. The day after she received the gold bars, an unknown suspect claimed to be an undercover agent and took possession of the bars in a nearby Wendy’s, according to charging documents.
The woman continued to purchase gold bars and met a suspect in May to whom she again delivered gold bars, resulting in the combined loss of $900,000.
In June, the woman purchased 34 gold bars worth more than $2.5 million, and the gold was supposed to be sent to her in multiple shipments. Before the gold was shipped, the victim realized she was being tricked and her money and gold were being stolen.
The victim stopped the gold purchase and shipment, but continued to communicate with the suspects, telling them that the shipment was delayed. In July, the suspect called the victim and victim convinced the suspect that a 1-kilogram gold bar had been delivered to her home and the suspect arranged for a courier to pick it up.
On the day of the pickup, a Montgomery County police detective posed as the woman and placed a cardboard board box in the victim’s car which they said contained the gold bar.
At the meeting location, the courier, later identified as Weng, opened the car’s rear door, said a predetermined code and removed the box he believed to contain a gold bar valued at more than $70,000. Weng was then stopped by county detectives.
He later admitted that he was to be paid $500 to $1,000 to pick up the package, according to police.
