Auglaize County, Ohio – Following a complaint, multiple agencies collaborated to apprehend two men for scamming an elderly man.
On Monday, the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a resident informing officials that he had been duped out of a large sum of money.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the man told deputies that he received phone calls and text messages informing him that his bank had been hacked and that his money was no longer safe to be stored there.
The scammers told the man to go to the bank and withdraw a lump sum of money. He did, and arranged with the scammers for someone to retrieve the cash and pay him back with a cashier’s check for the same amount, according to officials.
According to authorities, the people who were scamming the man later arrived at his home and took the money; however, one of the scammers was attempting to persuade the man to participate in other investments and arrange for another withdrawal from him.
According to deputies, family members became involved and contacted the Sheriff’s Office, resulting in an investigation.
The Grand Lake Task Force, the FBI, the Lima Office, and the Safe Streets Task Force were asked to help with the investigation by arranging for another pickup for a larger sum of money.
Officials stated that the second pickup was scheduled for June 17, and two men arrived to retrieve payment but were quickly arrested.
Deputies said they were arrested with a large amount of money on them.
Authorities said the two arrested, Xinxing Chen, 32, and Yaolong Zhou, 37, were in the United States on work visas from the People’s Republic of China; both were taken to the Auglaize County Corrections Center on charges of Complicity/Theft by Deception (third-degree felony).
