NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens man was arrested for attempting to get an 87-year-old woman on Long Island to buy a gold bar in a phone scam earlier this week.
According to detectives, at about 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, the Garden City South woman was contacted by an unknown man who informed her that a Chinese pornographic website stole money from her bank account.
In order to rectify the situation, the suspect instructed the woman to purchase a gold bar, valued at $97,875 and said that someone would pick it up from her using a secret code.
Police ended up arresting He Zheng, 31, of Flushing as he attempted to pick up the gold bar from the woman’s residence.
Zheng was charged with attempted grand larceny and was arraigned on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Hempstead.
Detective’s request anyone who feels they may have been the victim of the above defendant to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
Nassau County police urges the community to be on alert and to remind vulnerable family members, friends, and neighbors about potential scams or frauds.