Police: Man loses $800K to scam

PERKINS TWP. — A Chinese national was recently arrested after a Perkins Township man was scammed out of more than $800,000. Fujian Qiu, 37, of Flushing, New York, was originally facing charges of complicity to theft, a first-degree felony; theft, a second-degree felony; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; and possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony. However, during a Wednesday session of the Erie County grand jury, he was indicted with one count of theft from a person in a protected class, which is a felony. The degree depends on the dollar amount. It was not immediately clear which degree the indictment was for. On Feb. 1, a 72-year-old Perkins Township man alerted authorities that he believed he was targeted by a scam. The man told officers that he saw a social media post asking people if they had been the victim of a scam. The advertisement led the man to a website that connected him with alleged scammers, possibly in India, according to Perkins police Detective Joseph Rotuno. Scammers reportedly told the man they could help him get back the money he lost on a previous scam. The people the man communicated with in the new scam directed him to make payments through Bitcoin and wire transfers to pay for fees associated with getting his original lost sum back. First meeting with suspect Scammers kept the man on the hook for months starting in June or July, according to Rotuno. At one point, the man communicated to the scammers that he had no further funds for transfers but that he had a considerable amount of physical precious metals. At that point, scammers reportedly set it up for the man to meet a courier at a business in the 5500 block of Milan Road (U.S. 250) to drop off nearly $175,000 in gold. That was on Nov. 25, according to Rotuno. The man told officers he met with an Asian male in his 30s to make the transfer. The victim would supposedly know he was making the drop with the correct person because the courier would give him a dollar bill with a name the scammer provided. In this case, Allan. All communications occurred through the Telegram application. Once the victim reported the scam to the police, officers took over his account and took over communication with the scammers. Second meeting with suspect Supposedly, the man's case racked up fees every day, and he was considerably behind, so officers told the scammers they now had about $100,000 more in gold to bring the account current. Another courier dropoff was set up on Feb. 26. The alleged victim agreed to do the transfer using fake gold bars obtained by police. The man also agreed to wear a wire. Qiu reportedly departed a New York airport after 7 a.m. on Feb. 26 and landed in Cleveland a few hours later. Within two hours of landing, he was in Perkins Township for the transfer. Once the transaction was complete, officers initiated a traffic stop and arrested Qiu. Detectives interviewed Qiu through a Mandarin interpreter. Qiu allegedly provided some information and then requested an attorney. Officers seized his cellphone and are working on obtaining a search warrant to view the files and call logs on the device, Rotuno said. Rotuno said the man had a backpack with a change of clothes, a New York ID, a passport, a credit card and a small amount of cash, as well as a ticket to return to New York later that night. Qiu has been in the U.S. since he crossed over from Mexico to California in October 2023. He was detained at the border and released on his own recognizance. He did not have any upcoming court dates in immigration court, according to Rotuno. Qiu is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing in Sandusky Municipal Court on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. As of late Thursday, he remains locked up in Erie County Jail under a $300,000 bond. He additionally has a no-bond holder from the U.S. Border Patrol.