In Brentwood, Tennessee, two Chinese nationals, Fan Zhang and Zhen Chen, were arrested for allegedly scamming a Williamson County man out of nearly $650,000 in an elaborate “Gold Bar Scam.” The scam began in late April when the victim received a phishing call from a woman claiming to be an FBI agent, warning that his identity was compromised and linked to cartel crimes. She instructed him to liquidate his assets into gold bars for safekeeping in escrow, using fake FBI and Treasury Department documents and a secret password, “Treasury 28,” to gain his trust. The scammers, posing as treasury agents, collected $144,430 in gold bars on April 30 and $504,000 on May 8 after the victim liquidated his bank accounts, 401K, and IRA. When the scammers requested a third transaction involving a property loan, the victim contacted the Brentwood Police Department (BPD). The BPD set up a sting operation on July 8, using fake gold bars, and arrested Zhang and Chen when they arrived to collect. The suspects, described as low-level couriers, face $500,000 bonds and potential immigration issues, while the victim has lost all the money given to the scammers. Authorities emphasize that legitimate agencies never collect cash or gold in person and urge people to verify suspicious calls with local police.