ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Deputies with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office have arrested a Chinese man named Xiangbo Sun for allegedly scamming an elderly woman of nearly $500,000 this summer.
The 24-year-old is in the Allegan County Jail on a charge of larceny by false pretense between $50,000 and $100,000 and is accused of being responsible for over one-million-dollars in fraudulent cash and gold pickups from individuals throughout the United States.
Sun was in the U.S. on a tourist visa.
Deputies say the woman had already given couriers a total of $237,000 in gold coins by cashing in her retirement accounts after she received a call in May from someone claiming to be with the Federal Trade Commission who told her she had been an identity theft victim. The caller told her to withdraw money from her retirement and savings accounts and give it to a secure courier, and added she would get the money back with interest.
A Lyft driver who had taken Sun from O’Hare International Airport to the woman’s house told police he was then expected to take Sun to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids for a flight to New York City.
Allegan County detectives identified the dates, times, and locations for fraudulent cash and gold pickups from people throughout the U.S. and made contact with local jurisdictions to share information.
While these investigations are still ongoing, arrest warrants have been obtained in two other states based upon the information that was provided.
The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office says additional suspects responsible for picking up the gold coins prior to them being contacted have been identified, but their names are intentionally being withheld at this time.
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