Man arrested in connection with scam that cost 93-year-old Napa man $20,000, police say

A police sweep has identified a suspect authorities say was involved in a scam that cost a 93-year-old Napa man $20,000, officials said.

On October 27, the victim told police he gave the money to a courier following a possible fraud scheme that began when he received an email about an alleged PayPal transaction. The Napa Police said this in a press release.

The Napa man called a number from the email, provided some personal identification information and was told he had been overpaid $30,000. The person on the other end told the man to withdraw the money in cash and put it in a box so a courier could pick it up.

The man withdrew $20,000, put it in a box and gave it to a courier, later identified as Zhi Deng, 28, who drove to the man’s home in Napa. He said he would deliver the rest to Deng by October 28.

Napa police helped arrange a pickup time for Oct. 28, and a detective arrested Deng around 11:50 a.m. He is suspected of obtaining money by false pretenses, elder abuse and grand larceny, police said.

Investigators discovered that Deng was a New York courier sent to California to collect money from scammed seniors. He worked all over the Bay Area and told authorities there were other couriers like him in the area, the news release said.

Deng was booked into the Napa County Jail but was later released on October 28.

Officials said investigators had not recovered $20,000 from the 93-year-old victim.

You can reach staff writer Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.