Oregon Law Enforcement Arrest Two Chinese Nationals in $37.5K Scam Plot

Two Chinese nationals have been arrested after trying to scam an Albany resident of $37,500.

The incident occurred on 3 February and Albany Police Department set up a sting operation the following day in which the two men were arrested.

An Albany resident contacted the police after becoming suspicious about phone calls from a ‘Chris Wilson,’ allegedly from PayPal, who informed him that his phone had been hacked, and his personal information compromised.

The victim was put in touch with ‘Eddy Cooper” and ‘Mack Jones’ from the financial department of the Edward Jones organization.

They told the victim that he had lost $37,500 and should deposit the same amount of money to ‘mirror’ the illegal transaction so that it could be voided.

Victim Became Suspicious and Contacted the Police

While on the phone with ‘Mack,’ the victim deposited $10,000 into a Bitcoin kiosk and was then advised to have the balance of the money in cash at his residence where it would be collected by a courier the following day.

The victim alerted the police department, and a sting operation was devised. At the prearranged time the following day, two suspects arrived at the victim’s home. An Asian man called ‘Tom’ gave the selected password to an undercover officer.

The Asian man then fled on foot but was soon arrested by the police. He has been identified as Yong Xue (32). The driver of the vehicle was also arrested. He has been identified as Zhen He (36).

Albany police have notified the Chinese Consulate. The FBI and the Assistant United States Attorney are helping the police with the investigation.

Albany police believe the two men could be involved in other similar cases of fraud. If you recognize either of the individuals in the photographs shown here or have yourself been involved in a similar scam, contact the Albany Police Department at 541-917-7680.