Prosecutors: Two stole millions in gold bars from Wisconsinites, others
By James Stratton
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WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A global gold bar scam sweeping the country is draining the bank accounts of people in Wisconsin.
Prosecutors say scammers convince people their bank accounts are hacked, telling them that it’s safer to transfer their cash to gold bars and give it to the alleged thieves.
Thieves, according to prosecutors, then send a courier to the house to meet up with the victims, who then give them the gold bars.
Federal authorities arrested two people in Washington State accused of scamming people out of millions in gold bars across the country. Brandi Durst and Antonio Peña each face a charge of money laundering.
A federal criminal complaint says the pair were involved with taking more than $2.2 million from a woman in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, near Appleton. The complaint alleges six different pickups between September 10 and December 14, 2024, of more than 700 gold bars and 97 gold coins.
In Waukesha, police say a woman lost $258,000 to the scheme involving Peña and Durst.
“The high-level view is individuals are preying on the men and women of this state through fear,” said Michael Hensle, special agent in charge for FBI Wisconsin.
Hensle spoke to 12 News in a November interview. According to a tally from the FBI and new cases obtained by 12 News, more than 50 victims have been scammed in Wisconsin, with losses totaling more than $15 million.
For months, WISN 12 News has been covering the issue, speaking to victims who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“It did put a strain on me for sure, it made me worried,” said one Western Wisconsin woman who didn’t want to be identified. “I told my financial advisor, I’m afraid to go to the grocery store and write out a check because I might not have enough money in my account.”
The woman lost $433,279.53 in the ordeal. Police arrested the pickup man in her case, Gourav Patel.
In another case in Waukesha, prosecutors charged Junjie Liang. Liang pleaded no contest to scamming a Waukesha woman out of $707,558.34 in cashier’s checks and gold bars. A judge sentenced him to six years.
Police arrested Durst and Peña in a sting in Western Washington. They face federal charges in Kentucky, which is where the investigation started. Whether there is a connection between them and the others previously arrested or charged is unclear.
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