The Napa Police Department reports that 28-year-old Zhi Rong Deng of San Jose has been arrested for Obtaining Money by False Pretenses and Elder Abuse. Authorities confirm Deng has already been released from jail.

Around 10 a.m. on October 27, 2024, NPD says it received a call from a 93-year-old Napa resident who had received an email asking him to call a number related to a PayPal transaction.

Authorities say the man said he called the number was coerced into providing his personal identification information. The man was also convinced that he had been paid an excess of $30,000. He was told to take the cash from his bank account, put it in a box, and a courier would retrieve it.

Police say the victim withdrew $20,000 and provided it in a box to an Asian man who came to his residence. The man told the courier he would get the remaining $10,000 by Monday. They arranged for another pick-up on October 28.

With assistance from trained investigators, the victim arranged a pick-up for the remaining amount. Napa Police Department detectives were waiting for the courier who was arrested. Police say the suspect was identified as Zhi Deng who said he was originally from New York.

Police say Deng was a courier sent out to California to collect money from elderly people who were being scammed and worked all over the Bay Area. NPD says Deng was booked at 3:14 p.m. on October 28 and released at 7:20 p.m. on the same day.