WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Three men have pleaded guilty in connection with stealing nearly $100,000 from an elderly Willoughby resident.
Police say the theft began with a phone call, with the caller telling the elderly woman she owed $342 through PayPal.
"While attempting to make that first payment, she told the caller that she accidentally entered the amount of $34,200 instead of $342, so then the caller somehow convinced her to meet and give that cash after withdrawing it from her bank,” said Michael Sevel, detective lieutenant with the Willoughby Police Department.
Over a two-week span, police say the woman met with the thieves three times, paying them nearly $94,000. Investigators believe the suspects targeted her because of her age.
"A lot of times, the people that they're targeting are maybe diminished in their mental state, and they get confused easily,” said Sevel.
He added that it is unclear exactly how the suspects coerced her into giving them the money.
"It started with the PayPal thing, but also kind of turned into, like, for lack of a better term, a romance scam, where she felt she kind of knew that she was being scammed, but went along with it, almost because she was too afraid to stop it,” said Sevel.
The woman’s bank flagged a family member on Nov. 20 after noticing large sums of money being withdrawn. The family member then contacted the Willoughby Police Department.
According to police, Bingzhi Deng, Xiaojing Wu and Long Zhang, who were in the country illegally, were arrested on Dec. 3, 2025. The three have pleaded guilty to attempted theft from a person in a protected class, a third-degree felony, and possessing criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.
The department said a joint investigation with the FBI began after authorities were alerted on Nov. 20, 2025, that an elderly woman had lost around $93,000.
On Dec. 3, investigators conducted a sting operation, and the three defendants were arrested after accepting $40,000 in fake money as part of the operation.
"I believe she's relieved that it's all over and that at least some people in the involved in the scam have been brought to justice,” said Sevel.
The trio is set to be sentenced on June 4. Police said a fourth individual connected to the scheme was identified and arrested on Jan. 14. That person is awaiting trial and is being held in jail on a $250,000 bond.
Police believe the defendants were working with overseas call centers.
"They get this victim on the line, and then they put out to their courier network, 'Hey, we have this address. We need you to pick up from this address, and it's kind of whoever's available,'” said Sevel.
The detective said these types of cases are common and reminded the public to check in on elderly loved ones.
"If they're talking about someone they're talking to on the computer or someone on the phone, or you see large sums of money being withdrawn from their bank account or around their house, just making sure that they're not potentially the victim of a scam,” said Sevel.
Any Willoughby resident who believes they have been targeted by a scam is asked to contact the police department at 440-953-4212.
