SANTA ANA — A 57-year-old Irvine man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Santa Ana to a scheme to steal expensive, vintage violins and robbing a bank in Irvine.
Mark Meng pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bank robbery and was scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 24.
Starting in August 2020 and through April of last year in Orange and Los Angeles counties, the defendant grifted violin dealers out of the high-end musical instruments, according to his plea agreement.
Meng would contact violin dealers around the country requesting to borrow a violin for a trial period under the guise he intended to test it before buying it, according to his plea deal.
Meng, who would pose as a violin collector, would keep the violin past the trial period and then would call to negotiate a purchase price and send a check, which he knew would bounce, prosecutors said. Then, when contacted about the bounced check, he would kite another one or in some cases would say he mailed the violin back but it got lost in the mail, prosecutors said.
Meng would sell or try to sell the expensive violins, prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Meng stole a 1903 Guilio Degani violin worth $175,000; an 1823 Lorenzo Ventapane violin valued at $175,000; a 1903 Guilio Degani violin valued at $55,000; a 1913 Caressa & Francais violin worth $40,000; an 1870 Gand & Bernardel violin worth $60,000; and a Francais Lott violin bow worth $7,500; a Charles J.B. Colin Mezin violin worth $6,500; and an E.H. Roth Guarneri violin worth $6,500.
Meng sold three of the violins and the violin bow for $44,700, prosecutors said.
He robbed a U.S. Bank at 4180 Barranca Parkway in Irvine of $446 on April 2, prosecutors said.
Masking himself with a navy bandana he handed a teller a demand note that read “$18,000 — withdraw. Stay cool. No harm. Thx.”
When the teller said she didn’t have access to that amount he said, “Give me whatever you have,” prosecutors said.
