Fraudsters pretended to represent Microsoft and the U.S. government in order to scam a 68-year-old Laurel man out of nearly $270,000 — including almost $220,000 in gold, according to Anne Arundel County Police.
The alleged scheme was foiled by the intervention of a Laurel coin shop and investigators from Prince George’s County Police and Anne Arundel County Police, officials say.
Two Brooklyn, New York, men face theft charges in the alleged scheme. Qixiang Lan, 40, has been charged with two counts of obtaining the property of a vulnerable adult, one count of theft over $100,000, one count of committing a theft scheme over $100,000, and a conspiracy charge.
Fazhong Qiu, 34, has been charged with two counts of obtaining the property of a vulnerable adult, one count of theft over $100,000, and two counts of committing a theft scheme over $100,000.
If convicted, both Lan and Qiu could face up to 100 years in prison. As they await trials scheduled for next month, the two are being held without bail.
Qiu did not have an attorney listed in court records as of Monday. Lan is being represented by the Anne Arundel County Public Defender’s Office. The office declined to comment on his case Monday.
Investigators believe suspects in the case, both known and unknown, defrauded the victim, who is considered a vulnerable adult due to his age, of $267,082.60
According to charging documents, Prince George’s County Police were alerted on Oct. 23 by Golden Eagle Coins in Laurel to a possible tech support scam being perpetrated on one of its customers. Police said employees told investigators that a man came in, purchased more than $218,000 worth of gold and said someone was coming to collect the gold from him the next day.
According to charging documents, the employees tried to warn the man that it might be a scam, but the man “continued against their warning.”
Police said investigators from Prince George’s County spoke with the man the next day. They said the man told them that on Sept. 18, he was contacted by someone who he believed was from Microsoft. The man reportedly said the person told him there were security issues with his accounts and computers.
Eventually, the man was put in contact with someone who identified themselves as Dave Cooper, charging documents state. Police said the man believed Cooper was working with the government to oversee the handling of his case, helping to secure his money and protect his identity.
According to charging documents, on Sept. 26, Cooper requested the victim move $48,500 from a personal credit union account into a “secured account” created to store his money until his case was closed.
The man reportedly told police that he was told his accounts with larger amounts of money would need to be secured in a different way. According to charging documents, Cooper told the man to purchase gold so that a courier from the government could pick it up and secure it until the case was closed.
Police said that after talking with investigators, the man realized he was being scammed and agreed to work with them. According to charging documents, Anne Arundel County Police were then called to assist in a surveillance operation.
Police said Cooper reached out to the victim on Oct. 24 to say that a courier from the government would be coming to pick up the gold.
According to charging documents, Lan and Qiu showed up later that day in a black Mazda CX-5 with New York license plates. Police said the pair drove past the man’s home a few times before parking. As investigators watched, Lan reportedly walked up to the man’s home and collected the package of gold before returning to the parked car.
When Lan and Qiu drove away, investigators stopped the car and the two were taken into custody, police said.
Charging documents do not indicate who police believe acted as Cooper; however, police said investigators believe multiple people were involved in the scam.
Both Lan and Qiu have trials scheduled for Dec. 12 in the Annapolis District Court.
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