SOUTH WINDSOR — A Brooklyn, New York, man was arrested Thursday in connection with a larceny scheme after attempting to collect $20,000 from a 90-year-old victim, authorities said.
Qiao Zheng, 42, was taken into custody by the South Windsor Police Department at 12:59 p.m. after a sting operation at the victim’s residence.
Zheng is charged with conspiracy to commit larceny in the second degree after he allegedly duped the elderly man into giving a courier $49,900 in cash.
The victim reported the fraud on Jan. 27, claiming he received an email from someone pretending to be with PayPal.
The email stated that a Bitcoin transaction had flagged his account.
After contacting the support number provided, the suspect remotely accessed the victim’s computer through a fraudulent link and attempted to transfer funds to a separate account.
When that failed, the victim withdrew cash from multiple banks for the courier, as instructed.
The South Windsor Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit was monitoring the situation when Zheng contacted the victim again for an additional $20,000.
He was arrested upon his arrival at the victim’s home and is being held on a $100,000 surety bond.
Zheng is expected to appear in Manchester Superior Court today at 9 a.m.
In a separate incident, Joshua N. Riggs, 25, from Windsor Locks, was also arrested on Thursday at the same time on an active arrest warrant following a shooting incident at an Amazon facility on Ellington Road on April 8, 2024.
Riggs was found with a pistol in his vehicle that had its serial number removed.
Following his arrest by the West Hartford Police Department and subsequent transfer to South Windsor custody, Riggs was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond.
He is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Feb. 19 at 9 a.m.
Lieutenant Mark Cleverdon, Public Information Officer for the South Windsor Police Department, provided the details of the arrests.
