Long Island man arrested in Teaneck after intercepting $10K in 'grandchild scam'
The victim was instructed to wrap $10,000 in cash in a specific way to evade detection by UPS employees and ship it overnight to an address in Teaneck.
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A Long Island man is facing a long list of charges after an interstate fraud investigation culminated in a dramatic undercover takedown outside a vacant Bergen County home.
Teaneck Police Chief Andrew R. McGurr announced the arrest of Zhenye Chen, of Bellerose, New York, following a coordinated effort between New Jersey detectives and Midwestern law enforcement to stop a multi-state "grandchild scam" ring.
The investigation began on Wednesday, April 22, when the Teaneck Police Department was contacted by the Shakopee Police Department in Minnesota regarding a scam that had just taken place in their jurisdiction.
The day prior, an elderly Minnesota resident received a frantic phone call from an individual pretending to be her grandson. The caller claimed he had been in a severe car crash, was in police custody, and urgently needed $10,000 for legal fees and to get his vehicle out of an impound lot.
Deceived by the caller, the victim was instructed to wrap $10,000 in cash in a specific way to evade detection by UPS employees and ship it overnight to an address in Teaneck.
Teaneck’s Detective Bureau quickly jumped into action. Investigators contacted UPS and confirmed that the package was still en route and had not yet been delivered. Detectives also discovered that the destination address was a vacant home currently listed for sale.
Members of the General Investigations Squad set up surveillance on the empty house, waiting for the package — and the courier — to arrive.
Shortly before noon, detectives watched a vehicle with New York license plates pull up to the home. Chen exited the car, walked onto the front porch, grabbed the UPS package containing the victim's cash, and turned to walk back to his car. He was immediately swarmed and arrested by waiting detectives.
A search of Chen and his vehicle turned up significantly more than just the Minnesota victim’s stolen money. Detectives recovered:
The original UPS package containing the victim's $10,000 intact.
An additional $10,100 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of other active thefts or money laundering.
Suspected cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
A fraudulent Connecticut driver’s license.
As detectives dug deeper, they successfully linked Chen to another package theft and fraud scheme that took place just days earlier on April 16. In that case, a victim from Missouri was conned into mailing $4,000 to a Teaneck address after scammers fooled her into believing her bank account had been compromised.
Chen has been hit with a massive array of charges spanning both the April 16 and April 22 incidents, including:
Multiple counts of theft and theft by deception, third degree.
Impersonation/identity theft, third degree.
Money laundering, third degree.
Possession of cocaine, third degree.
Possession of a false government document, fourth degree.
The Teaneck Police Department is urging residents to remain vigilant against these types of high-pressure scams. Authorities remind the public that scammers frequently impersonate panic-stricken family members, law enforcement, or bank officials demanding immediate payment.
