2nd man charged in connection with ‘gold bar’ scam involving elderly woman

S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – A second man has been charged in connection with a scam that led an elderly woman to buy and surrender more than a half million dollars worth of gold, the South Whitehall Township Police Department announced Wednesday.

Tianhang Zhou, 41, of New York, faces felony counts of financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person, criminal use of a communication facility, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an older adult. 

Authorities say Zhou traveled with Jiwan Chen, 57, from New York to Lehigh County for the purpose of picking up gold from the elderly woman who was scammed by the duo.

On June 30, a South Whitehall Township police officer was called to EverTrue Luther Crest Senior Living on Hausman Road for a possible fraud incident involving a resident, the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office previously said. 

The officer met with a relative of the victim, a 78-year-old woman who told investigators that several weeks before talking with police, she was contacted by unknown people who claimed to represent "American Bank," officials said. 

The scammers told the victim that her identity and Social Security number had been compromised and that she needed to transfer her assets into a newly acquired account, according to a news release. 

The victim said she attempted several times to make wire transfers to the new account, but her financial institution rejected most of those attempts after determining the newly acquired account was invalid, authorities said. 

Officials say the scammers then directed the victim to instead purchase gold bullion. After she purchased the gold, the scammers instructed the victim to package it in a specific manner and meet at specific locations once an "officer" was close to the Allentown area, the DA's office said. 

The victim said she made four separate deliveries, following the directions of the scammers, and surrendered $550,000 in gold to various couriers, authorities said.

Police learned the victim was scheduled to purchase and deliver $133,000 in gold on July 1.

While under surveillance, South Whitehall Township police officers watched the victim deliver the gold to a man later identified as Chen outside the senior living facility, according to officials. Chen was immediately taken into custody by officers.

At approximately the same time, officers stopped a white Honda bearing New York registration as it was leaving the area. The driver was identified as Zhou.

The investigation established that Chen and Zhou had traveled together from New York, the South Whitehall Township Police Department said in a statement. Investigators also recovered cellular devices and additional evidence as part of the investigation.

Both Chen and Zhou are being held on $500,000 bail in Lehigh County Jail. 

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2nd man charged in connection with ‘gold bar’ scam involving elderly woman