BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Brentwood resident fell victim to an elaborate scam, losing more than $648,000 after scammers convinced him to convert his life savings into gold bars that were then stolen.
Gopi Sundrarajan of Brentwood was contacted on June 10 by scammers posing as federal agents who claimed his identity was being used to launder funds.
“Due to his identity being used to launder funds, he would have to liquidate all of his bank accounts and savings before the federal government froze his assets,” the scammers told Sundrarajan.
The victim was instructed to convert his assets to gold, which would supposedly be collected by a “courier from the US Treasury Department” and placed into an escrow account for safekeeping.
On April 30 and May 8, Sundrarajan handed over gold bars worth $144,430 and $504,029, respectively, to couriers who arrived at his Brentwood home in Williamson County. He had liquidated all his bank accounts and retirement savings to purchase the gold.
Police said the scammers used a password system for the couriers to establish credibility with the victim.
After speaking with law enforcement, Sundrarajan continued to communicate with the scammers, who then instructed him to take out loans against his properties to purchase more gold.
Working with Brentwood Police Department, the victim pretended to comply, sending pictures of supposed gold worth $273,895 to the scammers and arranging a pickup for July 8.
When two men arrived in a gray Toyota van with New York license plates to collect the fake gold, police were waiting for them. The suspects, identified as Fan Zhang and Zhen Chen, were apprehended. Zhang, who approached the victim’s house claiming to be “Richard Wallace,” was taken into custody and questioned through a Mandarin translator.
Zhang provided the password “treasury 28” before taking a box that had been filled with weights to mimic gold bars.
Law enforcement officials warn that this type of scam, where victims are convinced to convert assets to gold or other valuables that fake couriers then steal, is becoming increasingly common.
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