Tulare man nearly scammed twice after already losing $130K, police say

TULARE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Tulare man was almost scammed into losing tens of thousands of dollars – for a second time.

Police say the elderly man had already lost $130,000 and suspects were trying to get him to provide another $90,000; the plan was stopped after a concerned family member contacted law enforcement on Thursday.

According to officers, the suspect convinced the man they were a trading company and offered him an opportunity to invest and make money.

Police say he was instructed to download a phone application to keep tabs on his account and see his money grow – it appeared he was making money so he continued to invest. He originally made a wire transfer, but because of mobility issues, the suspects agreed to send someone to his house to pick up cash; they successfully did so twice.

For the third face-to-face transaction, the suspect told the man he had to provide $90,000 to close his account and collect the $990,000 he had made from investments.

Due to a concerned family member’s phone call, officers were able to set up surveillance at the man’s residence and take a suspect into custody when he arrived to collect the money.

The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Hailong He, who provided an address from Canada, was transported to the Tulare Police Department for booking and interview. He was later transported to the Tulare County Jail where he was booked under suspicion of several charges including financial elder abuse, theft under false pretenses, and grand theft.