A Nelson County woman lost over $100,000 in a sophisticated scam that preyed on her sense of security and nearly cost her even more. Fortunately, with the help of the FBI, authorities were able to intervene and disrupt the operation.
The woman initially contacted Nelson County authorities after becoming convinced that her identity had been stolen.
“This is an organized criminal enterprise—no doubt about it,” said Nelson County Sheriff Mark Embrey.
In July, the victim’s laptop became infected with a virus that disabled her system. A pop-up message instructed her to call a number that appeared to be associated with Microsoft. The scammer on the other end claimed her identity had been compromised and told her that the only way to protect herself was to purchase over $100,000 worth of gold bullion.
“Gold was purchased in a very large amount—well in excess of $100,000,” Embrey said.
The scammer then arranged for a courier to pick up the gold, supposedly to be stored at the Federal Reserve for safekeeping. The victim handed over the gold to the courier in early August, with each gold bar measuring more than 12 inches in length.
Not long after, the woman received a letter in the mail that appeared to be from the Federal Reserve. The letter instructed her to buy even more gold to further protect her identity. Sensing something was wrong, the victim reached out to the sheriff’s office before making another costly transaction.
At this point, Sheriff Embrey and his team, working with the FBI’s Richmond office, were able to intercept the courier. The suspect was identified as Liang Wang, who authorities say had entered the United States illegally.
Wang now faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit felony larceny, conspiracy to obtain money by false pretenses, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“It is very unusual to catch and apprehend someone associated with an operation like this,” Embrey noted.
Sheriff Embrey urges anyone who encounters anything unusual when making transactions to reach out to local authorities for help.
To prevent others from falling victim to similar schemes, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office will hold weekly information sessions on scams starting in October. Dates and times for these sessions will be shared once they are finalized.