4th Arrest In $3M Gold Bar Scam That Targeted MOCO Residents

BETHESDA, MD — Another arrest has been made in a string of at least 17 cases of Montgomery County residents being scammed nearly $3 million or more in gold bars. Police said a courier was arrested in the latest case after the suspect was stopped trying to board a flight to Ireland.

Neel Patel, 23 of Carol Stream, Illinois, was arrested July 23 for targeting elderly people through a government-imposter-related gold bar scam, Montgomery County Police said Wednesday.

In early March 2024, a victim reported she had been contacted by a man who claimed to be with the Office of the Inspector General – Federal Trade Commission. The victim was told she had been the victim of an identity theft which led to a federal investigation involving drugs and money laundering. She was instructed to transfer all her assets into gold bars, which would then be picked up by a courier who was an “FBI Agent” to take to the U.S. Department of Treasury for safekeeping.

The victim followed the suspect’s directions and completed two deliveries of gold bars to the couriers, worth over $789,000.

Detectives identified Patel as the courier of the first delivery of gold bars worth over $331,000 and obtained a warrant for his arrest. Detectives previously arrested Wenhui Sun, 34, of Lake Forest, California for his involvement as the second courier who picked up $789,000 in gold bars from the victim.

Authorities arrested Patel at Chicago O'Hare International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Dublin, Ireland. On Aug. 6, Montgomery County detectives extradited Patel to Maryland.

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

Vipul J. Thakkar, 52, of Owings Mills, was arrested July 24 and charged with multiple counts of attempted theft in connection with a scam that targeted a 74-year-old man, Montgomery County police said in a news release.

According to police, the victim contacted authorities after seeing a news report of a woman losing nearly $1 million in a gold bar scam. The victim told police he received an email stating that a suspicious deposit was made into his bank account and was instructed by the sender to convert his money into gold to protect his assets.

• RELATED: $900K In Gold Bars Stolen From MOCO Woman In Scam: Police

Police said the victim purchased more than $1.1 million in gold bars between March and June and arranged to have the bars picked up by the suspect's associates. After making a final purchase of $240,000 in gold bars, the victim saw the news report and contacted police, authorities said.

Police arranged to have the gold bars picked up at the victim's home and arrested Thakkar.

And, Zhenyong Weng, 19, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested for allegedly targeting an 82-year-old Silver Spring woman through a government-imposter related gold bar scam.