On June 25, 2025, the Charlestown Police Department in New Hampshire arrested 33-year-old Brooklyn resident Jianming Zeng and 42-year-old Ridgewood, NY resident Guohang Lin for serving as money mules for a PayPal refund scam, where:
- The scammers will make illegal phone calls to their victims, in this case an elderly man, falsely claiming that they were entitled to a $200 reimbursement due to accidental charges.
- Once they gained remote access to their victims’ bank account, the scammers will falsely claim their victim received a $50,000 reimbursement, demanding the victim repay it back.
- The victim will be asked to withdraw the funds from their bank account and hand it off to a designated courier, or money mule.
Zeng and Lin are now being held at the Sullivan County Jail and charged with theft by deception over $1,501, a class A felony punishable by 7.5-15 years in prison and a $4,000 fine.