New
York Police Seek Suspect in $9 Million Gold Bar Scam Targeting 67-Year-Old Man
The victim, who believed his financial
assets had been compromised, was the target of an online fraud scheme and
believed he had to buy the precious metal, the authorities said.
1.
Gold Bar Fraud: The New York Police Department
(NYPD) is seeking public assistance to identify a man who allegedly stole $9
million worth of gold bars from a 67-year-old New Yorker in April 2025.
2.
Modus Operandi:
o
The victim received a computer alert warning that
his financial assets had been compromised.
o
Fraudsters instructed him online to purchase gold
bars to protect his assets.
o
He bought approximately 69 gold bars, each weighing
1 kg.
o
He handed over the gold to a man near 81st Street
and Broadway on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
o
The recipient fled on foot with the gold.
3.
Value and Weight:
o
Total value: Approximately USD 9 million.
o
Number of gold bars: Around 69.
o
Weight: More than 150 pounds (68 kg).
o
Estimated current value of each 1-kg bar: USD
130,000.
4.
Police Investigation: NYPD has
released security-camera footage and photographs of the suspected thief and is
investigating the incident as grand larceny.
5.
Similar Fraud in Florida:
o
In May 2026, an elderly woman in Florida was
targeted through a fake Amazon email claiming her bank account had been
breached.
o
Fraudsters impersonated bank officials and a
Federal Trade Commission agent.
o
She was instructed to purchase 21 gold bars worth USD
101,220 and hand them over to a masked man at a petrol station.
o
When she was asked to purchase another USD 500,000
in gold, a friend became suspicious.
o
The FBI subsequently announced indictments against 10
people connected with the fraud scheme.
6.
Gold Dealers Warn of Fraud: Isaac
Kahan, owner of Bullion Trading LLC in Manhattan's Diamond District, said such
scams frequently target elderly people, particularly those in their 70s and
80s.
7.
Warning Signs:
o
Victims are instructed to convert cash or financial
assets into physical gold.
o
Fraudsters create panic through fake security
alerts and impersonate government or banking officials.
o
Victims are generally more concerned about the
total dollar amount than the weight or purity of gold.
8.
Gold Traceability: Gold
bars are extremely difficult to trace once stolen, making recovery particularly
challenging.
Key Takeaway:
Fraudsters are increasingly using impersonation, fake computer alerts and
fabricated financial-security threats to persuade elderly people to purchase
gold and hand it over to criminals. Gold dealers are cooperating with the FBI
to identify suspicious transactions and prevent such scams.
The
meeting point had been arranged: near 81st Street and Broadway on the Upper
West Side.
It
was there, in broad daylight, that two men approached each other on a Wednesday
in April 2025. One of the men, a 67-year-old New Yorker, transported a bag of $9
million in gold bars, each one the size of a chocolate bar, that the police
said someone online had instructed him to buy and hand over.
The
man did exactly as he was told, believing that he could secure his financial
assets, which an alert on his computer had led to believe were compromised, the
authorities said.
The
other man took sack of gold and fled on foot, according to the police. The
first man had been the victim of an online fraud.
Now,
more than a year and a half after the deceit, the New York Police Department is
asking for the public’s help in identifying the man who ran off with the gold
bars in connection with a grand larceny investigation.
Investigators
this week released security camera footage and images of the man suspected of
taking the bars.
Isaac
Kahan, the owner of Bullion Trading LLC, a gold and silver dealer in
Manhattan’s Diamond District, wondered about the sheer logistics that were
involved in the heist.
Each
of the gold bars weighs one kilogram, about 2.2 pounds, according to the
police. While the dollar value of gold has fluctuated since 2025, the current
cost of a one-kilo bar is about $130,000, according to Mr. Kahan, meaning that
$9 million would buy about 69 gold bars and weigh more than 150 pounds.
“I
don’t even know how he would be able to carry that,” Mr. Kahan said in an
interview on Friday. “You can’t even lift that.”
From
his decades as a precious metals wholesaler, Mr. Kahan
said, he had become all too familiar with such fraud schemes, which he noted
typically target people in their 70s and 80s, and seek to get them to liquidate
their assets to buy gold.
About
once every two weeks, Mr. Kahan’s business will receive somewhat cryptic
requests from potential clients to buy gold bars, he said, adding that it used
to happen on a daily basis. Unlike investors, victims of frauds show little
interest in the weight and purity of gold, he said.
“When
a person starts throwing the dollar amount first to me, that’s a telltale sign right away,” Mr. Kahan said.
A
few years ago, while his company was closed for the Jewish High Holy Days of
Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, it received several online orders from people who
had been targets of such schemes, he said. The business was able to cancel some
of the transactions, according to Mr. Kahan, who said one victim’s daughter had
contacted him after noticing a suspicious wire transfer for $150,000.
“It
was heartbreaking,” Mr. Kahan said, adding that gold
is essentially “impossible” to trace.
An
older woman in Florida was the target of a similar scheme this May, according
to the F.B.I., which said the victim received an email claiming to be from
Amazon and telling her to call a phone number because her bank account had been
breached.
A
person claiming to be associated with the bank told the woman that her identity
had been stolen and that her Social Security number had been compromised, which
would require her to speak with another individual, who claimed to be an agent
with the Federal Trade Commission.
That
individual instructed the woman to write a check for $101,220 to buy 21 gold
bars that she delivered to a masked man in a Volvo at a Sunoco gas station near
the victim’s home in McIntosh, Fla., the authorities said.
When
the woman received directions to buy another $500,000 in gold bars, a friend
became suspicious, according to federal authorities, who began an investigation
and this month announced the indictments of 10 people in connection with the
fraud scheme.
It
was not clear if there was any connection between the cases in Florida and New
York.
The
F.B.I. field office in New York did not respond to a request for comment on
Friday about the gold bars that were stolen from the man on the Upper West
Side.
Mr.
Kahan said that he flags suspicious gold purchases for the F.B.I. and arranges for
agents to speak to people who he fears could be the targets of frauds.
“We
do try to slow the process down,” he said.