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Two charged in Lincolnshire gold bar scam

Two people were arrested in Lincolnshire Tuesday after attempting to scam an elderly woman out of roughly $750,000 in gold bars.

The complainant bought the bars on Monday at BTRC, a coin and gold store in Lincolnshire, which prompted concerned staff to contact the police, according to a report from the Lincolnshire Police Department. The woman told police she bought the bars to give to someone who claimed to be a government employee and threatened to arrest her family.

The Lincolnshire police, with the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force and the FBI, investigated the report and arrested two people the following day. Chen Xinwei, 34, and Tangchao Huang, 55, both residents of Brooklyn, New York, were arrested and charged with attempted theft over $500,000 but less than $1,000,000.

Both suspects appeared in Lake County court on Wednesday and were granted pretrial release. They are both due back in court on March 26.

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