Irvine man pleads guilty in scheme to steal, resell over $525K worth of violins

An Irvine man pled guilty Monday to orchestrating a scheme to steal and resell more than $525,000 worth of high-value violins – and then robbing a bank when he realized he was under investigation.

The Department of Justice reported Mark Meng, 58, posed as a musical instrument collector from August 2020 to April 2023 and convinced violin shops across the country to loan him violins for a trial period.

During these trial periods, he often either sold or schemed to sell the instruments. In some instances, he bought violin bows before asking for a trial loan.

After receiving each violin, Meng negotiated prices ranging from $6,500 to $175,000, kept the instruments beyond the trial period, and then provided the shops with checks that he knew would bounce due to insufficient funds.

When Meng was confronted by these shops, he either sent more fraudulent checks or would lie and say he’d sent back the instrument, but that it was lost in the mail.

Meng eventually stopped responding to the shops entirely.

After stealing the violins, Meng resold them to a violin dealer in Los Angeles who was unaware of the scheme.

“For example, on February 1, 2023, a victim loaned Meng a Guilio Degani violin – valued at $175,000 – pursuant to a trial-period contract, which required Meng to return or purchase the violin by February 10, 2023,” wrote the DOJ. “However, Meng sold this violin to a buyer – who was unaware of the violin’s stolen origin.”

The DOJ listed other high-end violins that were stolen by Meng:

• one Lorenzo Ventapane violin, dated 1823, and valued at $175,000;
• one Guilio Degani violin, dated 1903, and valued at $55,000;
• one Caressa & Francais violin, dated 1913, and valued at $40,000;
• one Francais Lott violin bow, stamped “Lupot,” and valued at $7,500;
• one Gand & Bernardel violin, dated 1870, and valued at $60,000;
• one French, Charles J.B. Colin Mezin violin, valued at $6,500; and
• one German, E.H. Roth Guarneri violin, valued at $6,500.

Meng sold three of these stolen violins and a violin bow to a victim for a total of $44,700.

Eventually, the FBI caught on to these thefts, and when Meng realized he was under investigation, he decided to rob a bank.

The DOJ reported that on April 2, 2024, Meng entered a bank branch in Irvine, wearing a hat, sunglasses, a bandana covering his face and blue latex gloves.

He gave the bank teller a note that said “$18,000. – Withdraw. Please. Stay Cool. No harm. Thx.”

The teller told Meng she did not have access to the money he demanded, so Meng responded, “Give me whatever you have.”

The teller, fearing harm to herself and her coworkers, handed Meng $446.

The DOJ said a latent print left on the robbery note was traced back to Meng, and he was arrested several days later.

On Monday, Sept. 16, Meng pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of bank robbery.

Meng is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in February 2025 where he will face a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each count.

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