Illinois man arrested for targeting elders in gold bar scheme, Montgomery County police say

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) — The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) said Wednesday that it arrested a man from Illinois in connection to a gold bar scheme that targeted elderly people.

In early March 2024, MCPD said a woman reported that a person who said he was with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said she was a victim of identity theft which led to a federal investigation that included drugs and money laundering.

She was directed to transfer all of her assets into gold bars, which would be picked up by an “FBI Agent” to take to the Department of Treasury for safekeeping.

The woman made two separate deliveries of gold bars to the couriers, worth over $789,000, according to MCPD.

The first courier was identified as 23-year-old Neel Patel of Illinois. During that trip, he picked up gold bars worth over $331,000 from the woman, detectives said.

Detectives arrested Wenhui Sun back in March for his involvement as the second courier.

On July 23, Patel was arrested at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at about 11 p.m. as he attempted to board a flight to Dublin, Ireland. He was extradited to Maryland on Monday.

He is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where he awaits a bond hearing.

This is the latest incident in a string of arrests related to gold bar schemes.

On July 16, police said they arrested a man from New York for demanding an 82-year-old woman transfer her assets into gold bars over to him or Russia would take her money.

Then, on July 25, an Owings Mills man was arrested in connection to conning an elderly man into buying $1.1 million in gold bars.

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