A New York man was sentenced to six to 23 months in county jail after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than half a million dollars’ worth of gold bars from an Ephrata woman by impersonating a federal employee.

Judge Todd Brown sentenced Zhong Ren, of Brooklyn, after he pleaded guilty July 31 to charges of theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, conspiracy to commit theft by deception and impersonating a public servant. Ren faces deportation as a result of the conviction.

Ren, 45, conspired with others to steal $555,892 worth of gold bars from the victim’s residence in the 200 block of Linda Terrace in April 2025. 

The victim had been tricked by Ren and other unidentified co-defendants, who claimed they were federal employees, that she was the target of a foreign hacking scheme into her bank account and that she needed to convert all of her investments into gold which they would then hold in a Federal Reserve vault in Philadelphia until her fraud claim was resolved. 

Maryland State Police arrested Ren in June 2025 after he was identified as taking part in an identical scheme in Buckingham Township, Pa. Ren was found with a gold bar in his sock and multiple gold pieces in his vehicle at the time of his arrest. 

Cellphone records showed Ren had traveled from New York to the victim’s residence for about 30 minutes on the day the gold was stolen. 

If you receive a phone call or other communication telling you that you need to withdraw or transfer money because your financial information has been ‘hacked’ or compromised, it is almost certainly a scam.  Don’t give them your information and don’t move your money.  Hang up and contact your financial institution directly, through their customer service line and talk to them, then contact law enforcement.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman prosecuted the case.

Ephrata Borough Police Detective Brandon Bartholomew filed the charges.