Silver Spring Woman Scammed Out of $800K in Gold Bar Scheme; Man Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison
A man has been sentenced to more than six years behind bars for his role in a gold bar scam that defrauded a Silver Spring woman out of nearly $800,000.
Wenhui Sun, 35, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation. He’s also been ordered to pay over $457,000 in restitution.
The case stems from a scheme targeting a woman in the Leisure World community of Silver Spring. According to court documents, scammers posing as officials from federal agencies like the U.S. Treasury and FBI convinced the victim to turn over close to $800,000 in gold bars.
Authorities say the scam is part of a larger international criminal network. Investigators in Montgomery County have linked similar scams to operations in China and call centers in India, with at least seven known victims losing over $6.3 million in total.
Sun is the first person to be prosecuted in Montgomery County for this type of scam. While he originally faced a possible 80-year sentence, he will serve six and a half years instead.
