In Montgomery County Circuit Court, 19-year-old Zhenyong Weng of Brooklyn, New York pleaded guilty to attempted theft and conspiracy to commit theft, facing a maximum sentence of 20 years, with prosecutors seeking a penalty exceeding guidelines due to the case’s complexity and the victim’s vulnerability.
Weng was arrested in July 2024 for allegedly scamming an 82-year-old Silver Spring woman out of over $900,000 in a gold bar scheme by impersonating a government official, with his arrest occurring during an attempted collection of an additional $70,000 package.
According to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the Honorable Sharon Burrell, a jury trial was scheduled to begin for defendant, Zhenyong Weng, 19, of New York, but Weng elected to enter a guilty plea. The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted theft and conspiracy to commit theft over $25,000 to under $100,000.
Weng faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for this Thursday, January 23, 2025.
We thank our partners with the Montgomery County Police Financial Crimes Section for their work leading to the arrest of the defendant. Assistant State’s Attorneys Hannah Gleason and Robert Hill are prosecuting this case.
“The Maryland State Sentencing Guidelines for non-violent, white-collar crime are typically low and were not designed to deal with international organized crime. The guidelines for this defendant call for a sentence of probation to six months in jail. Due to the complexity of the Gold Bar Scam cases and the vulnerable nature of the 82-year-old victim, the State will be seeking a sentence that far exceeds the sentencing guidelines and reflects the seriousness of these offenses,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.”
