Two men indicted for $86,000 fraud scheme in Prince George’s Co.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson announced indictments Thursday of two men charged with defrauding a 59-year-old county resident out of $86,000.

Jackson and county police said Zheng Hui Xie, 30, of Flushing, New York, and Jianwei Wang, 27, of Monterey Park, California, impersonated Federal Trade Commission officials in order to convince the resident, who was not named, that there had been fraudulent activity on her Apple ID and that several accounts were compromised.

The resident received a text message on April 28 about a large purchase made on her account, and called a number provided. The person who answered claimed to be with a fraud department, and transferred the woman to an individual who claimed to be an FTC agent.

On two separate occasions, the resident was asked to withdraw money from her bank in order to secure her money. She handed the money over to the fake agents who came to her home.

When the resident received another phone call May 15 from an unknown number, and was told to withdraw $24,000, she contacted police. On May 23, investigators with the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit arrested Xie and Wang.

Both men are charged with two counts of theft, one count of theft scheme and one count of conspiracy to commit theft. Police said the men could face additional charges, along with others who may have helped them defraud other residents in financial schemes that may have netted a combined $700,000.

Although senior citizens are mostly preyed upon in similar schemes, Jackson said scammers also target those who are “very responsible.”

“If somebody texts you and says, ‘If you don’t pay this money immediately, then your license is going to be suspended,’ most of us that are responsible don’t want our license suspended,” she said. “Our message to our residents and others is to make sure that you just don’t respond.”

If others believe they may be been defrauded, they are asked to call police at 301-352-1200.

Last month, AARP Maryland kicked off a campaign to stop financial exploitation on older Americans.

Federal Trade Commission data showed that there were 44,195 fraud reports from Maryland residents in 2024, for a total loss of nearly $202 million, up from the 44,168 fraud reports and $168 million in the state in 2023.

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Two men indicted for $86,000 fraud scheme in Prince George’s Co. 

Florida Men Indicted For Scamming Elderly Victims Of More Than $1.5M In Mail Fraud Case

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — A federal grand jury has indicted two Florida men for allegedly defrauding dozens of elderly people of more than $1.5 million.

David James Green, 24, of Miami Gardens and McArnold Charlemagne, 32, of Miramar are charged with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

According to the indictment, the duo would pose as a police officer, lawyer or other person and persuade their victims to send thousands of dollars in cash to various addresses to help with relatives’ legal expenses.

They would claim, says the indictment, that the victim’s grandchild had been jailed due to a car accident or traffic stop involving a crime and needed money for bail and legal fees, often tens of thousands of dollars. It also states that sometimes they would claim drugs had been found in the car or someone was hurt.

The men had the victims send money to homes that were vacant or for sale so no one would be there when the money arrived. They also told the victims there was a gag order on the case that prohibited them from telling others, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, at least six packages containing between $7,900 and $20,000 were shipped to addresses in Baltimore, Maryland between May 2018 and January 2019. The victims were from Ohio, Oregon, Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan and Florida.

In total, 65 victims sent the men at least $1.5 million, the justice department said.

Both men face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Green, while Charlemagne appeared in court on Friday and was released on a $100,000 bond.

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Florida Men Indicted For Scamming Elderly Victims Of More Than $1.5M In Mail Fraud Case