Irvine Man Sentenced to 46 Months for High-Value Violin Thefts and Bank Robbery

Mark Meng, 58, was sentenced in federal court for orchestrating a $500,000 violin fraud scheme and robbing a bank in 2024, with restitution hearings set for June 2025.

• Mark Meng, posing as a violin collector, fraudulently acquired high-value instruments between 2020 and 2023, using bad checks and deception.
• He stole violins and bows worth over $500,000, including a Giulio Degani violin and a Lorenzo Ventapane violin, each valued at $175,000.
• Meng resold stolen violins and bows to unsuspecting buyers, profiting $44,700 from items he did not legally own.
• In April 2024, Meng robbed an Irvine bank, demanding $18,000 but receiving only $446 after threatening a teller.
• The FBI’s Art Crime Team and local police departments collaborated in the investigation, leading to Meng's guilty plea and sentencing in March 2025.

3 Articles

Orange County Register USA TODAY U.S. Department of Justice