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Zhishen Zheng, a Chinese national, is being held on $1 million bail at the Sonoma County Jail following his arrest in connection with the scam, the Santa Rosa Police Department said Thursday.
On July 1, the 74-year-old victim reported the fraud to police, saying it started after she received a pop-up notification on her iPad advising her to contact her service provider’s security center. When the victim called the number listed, a man posing as a security agent told her that her bank accounts were compromised. She was then transferred to another person who claimed to work for the Federal Trade Commission.
The woman was instructed to withdraw several thousand dollars in cash from her bank account that would eventually be used to “recover her account.” She was told that once the account was recovered, the money would be returned, police said.
“The victim went to her bank and remained on the phone with the FTC imposter, who was likely advising her that the bank employees were taking part in the scam and would try to dissuade her from withdrawing the funds,” Santa Rosa police said.
After that, police said the money was picked up at the victim’s home by Zheng, who was allegedly impersonating an undercover FTC agent.
The next day, the FTC imposter called the victim to ask if she had checked her bank account.
“After confirming she had checked the account, the imposter told her that action triggered another compromise of her account, and she needed to withdraw additional funds to remedy the situation,” police said.
The victim then withdrew more cash and gave it to Zheng, who was once again allegedly posing as an undercover agent.
It was later learned the victim had downloaded an app used to control devices remotely — at the instruction of the first security agent imposter. The app likely allowed the scammers to monitor her online activity and view her financial accounts, police said.
An investigation by Santa Rosa police included a review of home security camera footage, vehicle registration information, and information about similar cases in other jurisdictions shared with SRPD by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and El Cerrito Police Department.
Detectives believed Zheng was a suspect in the Santa Rosa fraud investigation. On Saturday, they were notified that officers with the Vallejo Police Department had interrupted a similar courier scam involving Zheng.
He was arrested and turned over to Napa County Sheriff’s Office detectives to be booked into Napa County Jail for his involvement in their fraud investigation. Santa Rosa detectives determined Zheng was the courier who had picked up cash from the Santa Rosa victim on both occasions and was a knowing participant of the fraud.
Zheng had posted bail in Napa County, but was immediately taken into custody by Santa Rosa detectives, who had secured an arrest warrant with a bail amount of $1 million.
Zheng was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of financial elder abuse, obtaining money by false pretenses and grand theft.
Authorities don’t believe he was the only participant in the scheme and investigators are trying to identify other suspects.
Santa Rosa police are urging seniors and their families to stay informed and vigilant against financial scams, including courier fraud, tech support scams, and impersonation schemes.
Copyright © 2025 Bay City News, Inc.
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