Several months ago my mother who is an acupuncturist saw some new patients. The patients were supposedly laborers from China. They claimed that they wanted to see if my mother could help them some sleep issues. Over the course of the conversation they revealed that during their work they had unearthed a container in the ground that contained a sizeable amount of gold.
They had with them 1 of the ingots which may have been several ounces. These individuals claimed that they found 80 of these ingots and 4 larger goblets of gold. There was a letter written in Chinese that my mother could read which indicated that this gold belonged to a man who had wished that his several sons would receive it and his hope that it would not be found by strangers (yes the irony).
They broke off a piece for my mother to examine on her own. I’ll be clear and say that according to my mother she has no idea who these people are and that they literally found her by looking up on the Internet for an acupuncturist and several other friends new of my mother who spoke the same language as her. Apparently a coincidence. According to my mother these 4 individuals are essentially superstitious famers unsure of what to do and who to trust. Fearing that the gold be cursed. Neither one of us have any idea why they chose to reveal the information about the gold to my mother.
It was at this time that she informed me of what happened. I thought it was some kind of elaborate hoax or scam and advised she not be involved with this in any way. At this point my mother had not yet had the gold piece given to her professionally reviewed. However, she is convinced that it is real pure gold and the ingot that it was cut from was also pure gold. I have seen the sample and I really couldn’t tell at all but that’s coming from someone who has never possessed any physical gold.
Some months pass and I don’t here anything else of this strange situation. My mother supposedly telling them she can’t help them. They contact my mother by phone again and this time say that they will be leaving soon and proposed at first to have my mother, a complete stranger, hold the gold for them. They later clarified their intention was to get as much cash from my mother as possible for the gold.
It was at this time that they revealed they estimated the total amount of their share of the gold was about 5 kilograms. My mother had the sample appraised at a shop who claimed that it was actually between 18-20 K gold and that he would give my mother $118 for the 5.4 gram sample and $700 per ounce. My estimate judging by the spot price of gold and the ratio he provided would seem to suggest a value of about $123,000. She will check several other places.
Originally there were 4 men who were involved in finding this gold. 2 of them are in southern CA and the others are up north. These 2 have 20 ingots and 2 of the goblet like pieces. These individuals claim to have no family and no connection to anyone here in the US and say they can not bring the gold back with them.
There are about a billion questions I have in my mind. Among them are I haven’t assumed anything is true and personally I think there is a greater chance that if real this gold was stolen rather than mysteriously found as they described. Even if found in the manner described I do not believe the workers have any right to it. I advised my mother against taking any action deepening her involvement. But her greed and my greed and curiosity are rearing its ugly head. I am fighting myself to try to do the right thing.
My mother, a good person would like to do the right thing but I feel she and I may ultimately not.
Hypothetically, if she were able to verify the gold is real. She suggested offering some partial amount between $15,000-$20,000 in exchange for them.
I have thought about this and my mind tends to go to the worst-case scenario which I think is at least pulling me in the direction of doing the right thing. Mainly what if these pieces were obtained criminally. How liable would my mother and maybe even me be for facilitating such a transaction? I’m still not sure if these people are still playing the long game and looking to rob or hurt my mother who might bring this cash.
There is no telling how much gold the other partners up north have and if any of them attempt to sneak or smuggle this where they are caught by authorities how terrible it would be to lead back to my mother. What if these men regret their decision and come back to get more?
Even with the gold in hand I know there a lot of obstacles changing it into cash as far as reportability, taxation, etc.
My mother and I don’t “need” the money but of course my mother is thinking of how she could retire after this if the best case scenario happens.
Unfortunately, if it’s real my mother has mentioned that she will need my “help” and as her son I am hard pressed to deny her help if she insists on proceeding if anything to make sure she’s safe. I don’t think I would ask her to be a part of this. However she knows that I do have cash available to make any potential deal more likely. It feels wrong but the greed is just so heavy.
I’m sure none of you has experienced anything quite like this but what are some things to think and consider with either decision?
