Charges against Las Vegas man held for court in Wayne Twp. scam
TREMONT — Theft charges against a Las Vegas man who allegedly scammed an elderly Wayne Twp. couple out of $10,000 cash by claiming their grandson had been arrested were held for court following a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Jiaqi Zhong, 37, who authorities said was part of a widespread fraud scheme in southwestern Pennsylvania, appeared by videoconference for the hearing before Magisterial District Judge David J. Rossi, Tremont.
Zhong is in Lancaster County Prison on charges filed in a separate case in that county.
Because Zhong speaks Mandarin, an interpreter was used.
Zhong is charged with felonies of theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception/false impression. He also faces a summary charge of criminal trespass.
The elderly couple, who didn’t talk during the brief hearing, declined to comment afterward.
State police at Schuylkill Haven responded to a home along Route 183 in the township around 3:05 p.m. March 22 for a report of a theft-fraud/forgery from earlier in the day.
Charging documents indicate a man called the female victim, identifying himself as her 16-year-old grandson. The caller told the victim he was in a accident in the Leesport area and was being charged with reckless driving.
The caller gave the woman what he said was his attorney’s name, “Walt Davidson.” The alleged attorney subsequently told the victim that she was not permitted to discuss the incident. He then told her the bail bondsman wanted $10,000 cash, which a bondsman identified as “John Kim” could pick up from her home.
An Asian man showed up at the Wayne Twp. home and the male victim handed him $10,000 in cash, police said.
Both victims identified Zhong from a photo lineup as the man who came to their home, police said.
Meanwhile, on March 19, state police at Uniontown, Fayette County, and the Allegheny County Police Department, along with employees of the Department of Homeland Security, had initiated an investigation about a widespread fraud scheme in and around southwestern Pennsylvania.
The scheme targeted elderly victims and mentioned the fake arrest of a family member, police said. A large sum of money was sought for release, and a conspirator then would then go to the victims’ homes to get the money.
Zhong was identified as participating in the scheme, police said, and he was detained at Parx Casino in Bensalem on March 23 by state police at Trevose.
Police say he confessed to the scheme and made several admissions. Afterward, he was arrested by state police at Lancaster for a similar theft March 22. He has been in the Lancaster County Prison since March 24, online court records show.
A state trooper, location not provided, interviewed Zhong at the Lancaster County Prison. He provided a timeline of events leading up to the March 22 incident in Schuylkill County. He told police he flew from Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., and drove a vehicle to casinos in Pittsburgh, Bethlehem and Grantville.
Zhong told police he made pickups at different locations. When shown a photo of the Wayne Twp. victims’ residence, Zhong believed it looked familiar, police said.
He was paid $500 by an unknown person to whom he delivered the money from the township theft, police said. A location where that happened was not provided.
Rossi kept bail at $200,000 straight cash.
