PORTLAND, OR – In a shocking case of fraud, a couple in Portland has reported losing more than $3 million in gold bars to a scam that targeted elderly individuals. Biao Lin, a 27-year-old Chinese citizen residing in Brooklyn, New York, was arrested by the FBI last Friday as he arrived to collect over $400,000 worth of gold bars from the unsuspecting couple.
Lin faces federal fraud charges in connection with a criminal conspiracy that allegedly exploited vulnerable individuals across the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin stated that Lin had previously picked up gold bars totaling $580,000 from another victim on the East Coast earlier this year.
The FBI has been investigating similar schemes targeting elderly victims nationwide, leading to the arrests of two individuals in Oregon earlier in the year. Kerin described the operation as predatory, likening it to “a group of locusts swarming across the country preying upon vulnerable people.”
According to Kerin, the fraudulent scheme begins when hackers infiltrate the computers of victims, posing as government officials who claim to be helping protect their assets. Victims are then convinced to convert their savings into gold for safekeeping with the U.S. Treasury.
The investigation into this particular case began when an 86-year-old Portland woman and her 93-year-old husband reported their ordeal to the FBI. The couple was directed by a person identifying himself as “Michael Lewis” to send their money into gold bars, claiming their accounts had been compromised.
The fraud began around June 10, 2024, when the woman discovered she was locked out of her trust and IRA accounts with Vanguard Group. After receiving a call from someone claiming to be from the company’s fraud department, she was instructed to install software that granted the caller remote access to her computer. Under the direction of “Lewis,” the woman transferred nearly half a million dollars to purchase gold bars, which she packaged and delivered to various couriers who showed up at her home.
After making a subsequent purchase of $462,398 in gold bars on October 1, the woman confided in her son, who then contacted the FBI, prompting an investigation. The couple had been receiving fake U.S. Treasury checks as reimbursement for the gold they handed over.
On October 4, the latest shipment of gold bars arrived at their Portland home, and the FBI set a trap for Lin. When he arrived to collect the gold, agents had instructed the woman to prepare a decoy package. As Lin attempted to leave with the decoy boxes, he was taken into custody.
During questioning, Lin claimed he had been approached randomly in a library and offered $200 to pick up “something” at the location provided. His lack of ties to Oregon and the absence of an extradition treaty with China raised concerns for the prosecution, leading U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Armistead to order Lin held pending trial.
