The South Whitehall Township woman, whose name was withheld, was contacted by people claiming to represent “American Bank” weeks before police were called to Luther Crest Senior Living on June 30, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

The callers told her to transfer her assets into a newly acquired account because her personal information had been compromised, authorities said.

Her financial institution rejected most of the attempted wire transfers after determining the account was invalid, prosecutors said.

The scammers then told her to purchase gold bullion, package it a certain way, and meet couriers once an “officer” was near Allentown, authorities said.

The woman made four deliveries and surrendered $550,000 in gold to various couriers, prosecutors said.

Police learned she was scheduled to buy and deliver another $133,000 in gold on July 1. South Whitehall Township officers conducting surveillance watched her give the gold to Jiwan Chen outside the senior living facility, authorities said.

Tianhang Zhou, 61, of New York, was driving a vehicle in the same area where the gold was to be delivered, investigators said. Authorities determined Chen and Zhou worked together in the alleged scheme.

Chen, 57, who has no current address listed, and Zhou are charged with financial exploitation of an older adult, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, criminal use of a communication facility, and related conspiracy counts.

Chen waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday, Sept. 2. He remained in Lehigh County Jail on $500,000 bail, with a formal arraignment scheduled for Oct. 16.

Zhou’s charges were dismissed at that hearing, but the same counts were refiled Thursday, Sept. 3, by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

The allegations follow a similar Pennsylvania gold-bar scam that ended with Brooklyn man Zhong Ren being sentenced to jail for stealing more than $555,000 in gold from a Lancaster County woman.

Anyone who receives a call or message claiming their financial information has been compromised should contact their bank using its official customer-service number, rather than transferring money or assets at a caller’s direction.

The Lehigh County Elder Abuse Task Force can be reached through local police or by calling 610-782-3700.


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