IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — Deputies in Iredell County found out about a scam involving a man claiming to be an FBI agent, and an arrest was made this week, according to Sheriff Darren Campbell.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release on Wednesday that 62-year-old Bin Zhu of Sandy Springs, Georgia, was arrested for several felony charges in connection with the scam.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies got a tip that Zhu was contacting elderly people and telling them that their bank accounts had been compromised. Zhu would identify himself as an FBI agent and instruct the victims to withdraw all of their money to turn it over to the agency, then he would claim someone would show up to retrieve the cash.
Deputies talked with a homeowner in Troutman who reported the scam and learned that the scammer was supposed to arrive shortly after. Authorities staked out the home and caught Zhu after he contacted the victim, according to the sheriff’s office.
Zhu was found with a little under $4,000 in cash in his car, and deputies also found “multiple vials of cocaine and ecstasy.”
Zhu is facing charges of obtaining property by false pretenses, multiple counts of felony drug charges, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
The sheriff’s office says Zhu was taken to the Iredell County detention center and held with no bond.
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