He scammed people out of several thousands of dollars in a gold bar scheme, including an elderly Bethesda couple. Now, he’s facing prison time.
Yongxian Huang, 24, of Brooklyn, NY, was arrested last fall for his role in a six-figure scam with gold bars which targeted an elderly Bethesda couple, according to a July 16 press release from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Preying on Bethesda elderly:
Last September, the Bethesda 75-year-old husband and wife received a fraudulent text, notifying them of suspected unauthorized account charges. The sender, appearing to be Apple, urged them to reach out to a phone number the text claimed to be their support division. They were later connected to Huang, posing as a representative from the Federal Trade Commission.
At Huang’s behest, the couple sent hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth to his co-conspirators. They also sent tens of thousands more via wire transfer before realizing they were being scammed.
They contacted Montgomery County Police, resulting in an MCPD-FBI collaborative effort with the couple to catch Huang in the act.
video courtesy Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office
Huang was arrested in New York last November by NYPD.
Huang’s sentence:
Huang pled guilty in June to all counts of his indictment:
- Conspiracy to commit theft over $25,000 to under $100,000
- Attempted theft over $25,000 to under $100,000
- Theft over $100
Huang was sentenced last Friday to two years and two months for his involvement in the scam. Upon release, Huang will face five more years of supervised probation, the press release said.
