WAPAKONETA, Ohio — Two Chinese nationals, Xinxing Chen, 32, and Yaolong Zhou, 37, are in custody at the Auglaize County jail after allegedly scamming an elderly resident out of a large sum of cash, the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The suspects contacted the victim via phone and text messages, falsely claiming his bank account had been compromised. They persuaded him to withdraw a significant amount of cash, under the pretense that his money was no longer safe at the bank.
A suspect then met the victim at his home to collect the cash, promising to return it with a cashier’s check of the same amount. The suspects also discussed other investments and tried to arrange a second cash withdrawal.
Family members reported the incident on June 16, prompting a joint investigation by the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office, the Grand Lake Task Force, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force in Lima.
Authorities arrested Chen, who lived in Flushing, New York, and Zhou, who resided in Chicago, when they arrived at the victim’s home for the second cash pickup on June 17. Both men were in the U.S. on work visas from China.
They now face preliminary charges of complicity and theft by deception, both third-degree felonies, and are being held in the Auglaize County jail.
