A Queens, New York, man has been charged in connection with an online scheme that allegedly attempted to bilk a Mainer out of $100,000.
Police say that on March 5, they received a report that a Cumberland resident had fallen victim to an online scheme that saw them convert more than $100,000 in financial assets into gold bars, which were handed over to a courier.
“Investigators determined that the scam was still in progress, with the perpetrators attempting to obtain additional assets from the victim,” Cumberland police stated in a news release issued Monday. “In response, detectives organized a targeted sting operation.”
The suspect had traveled to Cumberland “with the intent of further victimizing the resident,” police stated.
On March 10 at about 6 p.m., Zhangqi Xie, 44, of Flushing – an area of Queens, New York – was arrested in Cumberland and charged with theft by deception, a Class B offense, punishable by up to 10 years incarceration and a $20,000 fine.
Xie is being held at the Cumberland County Jail on $500,000 bail.
The arrest was the result of a joint operation with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the FBI. Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Yarmouth and Falmouth police also assisted.
“In recent weeks, all levels of law enforcement in Maine have responded to a higher frequency of incidents involving in-person encounters between victims and courier impersonators,” Cumberland police stated.
Last year, the FBI issued a warning about scammers instructing victims – often older persons – “to liquidate their assets into cash and/or buy gold, silver, or other precious metals to protect their funds. Criminals then arrange for couriers to meet the victims in person to pick up the cash or precious metals. From May to December 2023, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center saw an uptick in this activity with aggregated losses of over $55 million.”
