The last time Wen Hou saw his father, Naiping Hou, was over a year ago. His dad was having a great time on a fishing boat at the San Pedro Pier, in Southern California. “He caught a lot of fish. His friends were there, too. He was very happy,” recalled Wen (1) in an interview with KTLA.

Weeks later, his father had vanished. His furniture was gone. His house had been repainted. His cars had disappeared. And more than $1 million had been drained from his bank accounts and converted into gold bars purchased online, which his son said was very out of character. “He has never bought gold in his life,” the younger Hou told reporters. “He’s not an online-savvy person (2).”

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The elder Hou,…