BETHESDA, Md. — A 24-year-old Brooklyn resident has been sentenced to two years and two months in jail for his involvement in a gold bar scam that defrauded an elderly couple in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Yongxian Huang was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended. He also declined credit for the 239 days he had already spent in custody awaiting trial, resulting in a total of 26 months to be served. Following his release, Huang will be placed on five years of supervised probation.
The sentencing follows Huang’s guilty plea to multiple charges, including:
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Conspiracy to commit theft between $25,000 and $100,000
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Attempted theft in the same range
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Theft over $100
The scheme unfolded on November 14, 2024, when Huang traveled to Bethesda to retrieve a package he believed contained nearly $85,000 in gold bars. In reality, the package—prepared by Montgomery County Police detectives—held only $397 worth of fake gold. It was part of a sting operation launched after the victims, both 75 years old, reported losing over $400,000 in real gold to scammers.
An undercover officer, posing as one of the victims, handed over the decoy package. Huang then returned to Brooklyn, where authorities later arrested him. He had filmed himself opening the fake gold while wearing the same pink Crocs he had on during the surveillance footage of the handoff, helping to confirm his identity.
