Brooklyn man accused of stealing $555k in gold bars from ephrata woman waives hearing

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A New York man accused of stealing more than half a million dollars in gold bars from an Ephrata woman by posing as a federal agent has waived his preliminary hearing, allowing the case to move forward to county court.

Zhong Ren, 44, of Brooklyn, is charged with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, conspiracy, and impersonating a public servant in connection with the April 18 scheme that resulted in the theft of $555,892 worth of gold bars from a home on Linda Terrace.

According to investigators, Ren and unidentified co-conspirators convinced the victim that she was the target of a foreign hacking operation and needed to liquidate her assets into gold for safekeeping in a supposed Federal Reserve vault in Philadelphia. Ren was later identified as the person who came to the victim’s home and collected the gold.

Ren was arrested in June by Maryland State Police after he was linked to a similar scheme in Buckingham Township, Pa. At the time of his arrest, police found a gold bar hidden in his sock and additional gold items in his vehicle. Cellphone data also placed him at the Ephrata residence for about 30 minutes on the day of the theft.

Authorities believe Ren may be connected to a larger international fraud network involved in similar scams.

He remains held in Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $550,000 bail.

Shore News Network Staff Report Latest posts

Shore News Network Staff Report is the official newsroom byline used by Shore News Network when a story is produced through the collaborative work of multiple members of the editorial team rather than a single reporter.

This newsroom account is reserved for articles that involve contributions from multiple journalists, editors, photographers, researchers, or news desk staff. It is also used for developing stories that are updated as new verified information becomes available, as well as for community announcements, weather coverage, public safety alerts, election results, and other newsroom-produced content.

Every article published under the Shore News Network Staff Report byline is reviewed and edited in accordance with the organization's editorial standards for accuracy, fairness, attribution, and transparency. Information is verified through official government agencies, court records, law enforcement, public documents, direct reporting, interviews, and other reliable primary and secondary sources before publication whenever possible.

The Staff Report account does not use artificial intelligence to independently generate news or publish unverified information. AI-assisted tools may occasionally be used for editorial support tasks such as transcription, formatting, grammar review, or workflow efficiency, but all published content is subject to human editorial oversight and approval by Shore News Network's newsroom staff.

As an independently owned digital news organization, Shore News Network is committed to original reporting, public safety journalism, government accountability, local community coverage, and breaking news throughout New Jersey and surrounding regions. Stories published under the Staff Report byline reflect the collective experience and editorial judgment of the Shore News Network newsroom.

Readers who have corrections, additional information, or news tips related to a Staff Report article are encouraged to contact the newsroom at news@shorenewsnetwork.com. Shore News Network welcomes factual corrections and updates as part of its commitment to accurate, transparent journalism.