NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Brooklyn man was arrested Thursday for scamming an 80-year-old Long Island woman out of nearly $200,000 in cash and gold bars, and for violating Nassau County's mask ban, police said.
According to the NCPD's fraud and forgery unit, a Franklin Square resident received a text message stating she was the victim of fraud regarding her Apple ID.
The woman then called a provided phone number and spoke to a man claiming to be a Chase Bank representative. The man advised the victim he was working with the FBI and that her account had been compromised.
She was then directed to give her money to him for safekeeping, according to police.
The victim met an unknown man multiple times between Oct. 10 and Dec. 6, giving him cash and gold bars valued at approximately $203,000.
On Thursday, Dec 19, the same man contacted the victim again and arranged a meeting to accept additional gold bars, valued at $80,000.
The victim was provided the FBI agent's name and was given a password to ensure the correct person was receiving the gold bars. The victim became suspicious and contacted the police.
Following an investigation, officials arrested Zun Huo Shao, 40, of Sunset Park.
Huo Shao was charged with attempted grand larceny and for violating Nassau County's new Mask Transparency Act, which makes it illegal to wear a mask “for the purposes of concealing an individual's identity in public places.”
He was set to be arraigned Friday.