CUMBERLAND — A New York man was arrested Monday evening in connection with a sophisticated fraud scheme that convinced a local resident to convert more than $100,000 in financial assets into gold bars.
Zhangqi Xie, 44, of Flushing, New York, was apprehended at approximately 6 p.m. in the Cumberland Foreside area during a sting operation conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies.
The Cumberland Police Department received a report on March 5 that a resident had been defrauded into giving gold bars to a courier as part of an online scam.
Investigators determined the scammers were attempting to obtain additional assets from the victim and organized a targeted operation that led to Xie’s arrest when he allegedly traveled to Cumberland to further victimize the resident.
Xie has been charged with Theft by Deception, a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $20,000.
He is currently being held at Cumberland County Jail on $500,000 bail.
The arrest resulted from a joint operation involving the Cumberland Police Department, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, FBI, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Yarmouth Police Department, and Falmouth Police Department.
Authorities noted that law enforcement agencies across Maine have recently responded to an increased number of incidents involving in-person encounters between victims and courier impersonators.
