Gold dealer helped police arrest three fraudsters in 36 hours

A gold dealer’s suspicions helped police arrest three fraudsters within about 36 hours, DR reports. The men had persuaded a 75-year-old man from Funen to buy gold bars and hand them over, costing him 2.3 million kroner.

The fraudsters posed as a security representative from Danske Bank and an agent from PET. They told Steen Jørgensen he needed to help stop a major hacker attack by protecting his assets, investing them in gold bars and handing the gold to a fake PET agent.

Simon Pedersen, a gold dealer at Nordisk Guld, became suspicious while asking Jørgensen questions about his purchase. When Pedersen learned Jørgensen no longer had the gold, he contacted police.

Police received the report at 2pm on Monday, October 6, 2025, and began planning an operation. Officers were concerned Jørgensen might buy more gold or lose the rest of his assets, and wanted to preserve evidence while catching those responsible.

Early the following morning, police began monitoring the phones and heard that Jørgensen planned to travel to Copenhagen that afternoon to collect gold and hand it to the fraudsters. Officers followed him towards an agreed meeting place in Dragør, but the handover was interrupted when Jørgensen suspected someone was following him.

Police then followed him to Borup, near Køge. At about 8.30pm, he handed the gold to one of the fraudsters in a car park. Officers followed that man to a meeting with two accomplices, and all three were arrested at a petrol station in Slagelse at 10pm.

Police woke Jørgensen at a bed and breakfast south of Køge at 12.30am on Wednesday, October 8, and told him he had been defrauded. He was initially sceptical, but was convinced when officers showed him one of the suspects’ phones.

All three men have since been convicted of fraud. The man who handled the phone calls with Jørgensen was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The other two received sentences of two years and six months respectively.

Police have recommended Pedersen for a reward for helping solve the case. Jørgensen has not recovered his money, but is maintaining his claim against the fraudsters. He said he hoped sharing his experience could help others avoid similar scams. The case is also featured in the DR programme Kriminelt: Steen, the hackers and PET’s gold bars.