Men In ICE Custody After Trying To Scam Woman Out Of $106K+, Police Say

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. — Two New York City residents were placed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Control custody Tuesday after trying to scam a woman out of more than $106,000, Nassau County police said.

According to police, 30-year-old Brooklyn resident Yingliang Chen and 29-year-old Flushing resident Zheying Zheng were both arrested. A 65-year-old woman received a digital message notifying her that her bank account had been compromised and instructing her to withdraw money from the account to secure it, police said.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 15, the woman withdrew $106,000 in cash across multiple withdrawals and handed the money over to an unidentified person, police said. After the woman alerted police, Chen and Zheng were arrested while attempting to pick up the additional $35,000, authorities said.

Both men were found to be in the United States illegally after the arrests, and are now subject to deportation proceedings, police said. Both were charged with third-degree attempted grand larceny, while Chen faces an additional charge of resisting arrest, police said.