Two men have admitted to their roles in a scheme that defrauded a Carlsbad resident of nearly $1.5 million through fraudulent bulk gold purchases, according to federal prosecutors.
Xilin Sun pleaded guilty on December 2, 2025, to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Alexander Charles James entered a guilty plea on November 25, 2025, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The San Diego Elder Justice Task Force became aware of the case after the victim reported being deceived by individuals posing as government, bank, and tech-support employees. The victim said she was prompted by a pop-up message on her computer warning of a hack and instructing her to call for assistance. After making contact, scammers learned about her savings and convinced her that buying gold bars and sending them to the U.S. treasury would protect her funds under a new account in her name.
Over two months, the victim wired approximately $1,335,000 in three transactions to a precious metal business in San Marcos, California. She then picked up the metals and handed them over as instructed by the scammers under false pretenses.
According to court documents and plea agreements, both Sun and James acknowledged knowingly participating with an organization operating technical support scams as well as impersonating banks and government agencies targeting elderly victims across the United States—including within Southern California.
In February 2024, authorities conducted a sting operation using help from the Carlsbad victim. During this operation—overseen by federal agents—the victim arranged delivery of $100,000 in gold bars at the scammers’ direction. Surveillance observed James meeting with the victim; after providing a “secret” word, he received what he believed was gold before leaving to meet Sun. Sun took possession of the package but was stopped and arrested by law enforcement officers shortly afterward. At arrest, Sun had fake identification and another package containing $12,900 sent by another victim.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), San Diego Elder Justice Task Force members including the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern District of California https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca, FBI https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sandiego, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office https://www.sdcda.org/, Carlsbad Police Department https://carlsbadca.gov/departments/police, San Diego Police Department https://www.sandiego.gov/police, and California Highway Patrol https://www.chp.ca.gov/.
A sentencing hearing is set for February 12, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz.
“If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.”
The FBI requests that victims provide details such as names or companies who contacted them; communication methods used; bank account numbers where funds were sent; recipient names; plus information about any metal dealer company involved if instructed to buy precious metals.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mokhtari and Francisco Nagel are prosecuting this case.
