NJ senior scammed out of $200,000 worth of gold bars

💲A man was contacted by someone claiming to be an AppleCare representative

💲He fell for the scam and lost $200,000 worth of gold bars

💲When they called a second time police were waiting to hand over more gold

BARNEGAT — A 76-year-old man fell victim to a scam that popped up on his iPad and lost nearly $200,000 worth of gold bars.

Barnegat police said that after the man legitimately bought $200,000 worth of gold in Las Vegas, he got a message from someone on April 16 purporting to be with AppleCare claiming his bank account was hacked.

The scammer told the man that the only way to protect his account was to convert the cash into bars. The man believed what he was being told, including that a courier from the Federal Reserve would come by his home and pick up the gold.

The scammers contacted the man a second time and successfully got him to make a second purchase of gold bars for $550,000. The bars would be delivered to him on Monday. The couriers were greeted this time by State Police troopers.

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Chen Tongyong and Jianming Jiang, both from India, were charged with second-degree theft by deception and conspiracy to commit theft.

Barnegat police said the incident is another example of why residents need to be smart about calls they receive about financial matters and contact law enforcement if the call and what is being offered sounds suspicious.

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