Alleged scammer conned Everett veteran out of $20K, police say

A New York man accused of scamming a Vietnam veteran out of thousands of dollars was arrested Friday following a sting operation by Everett police, the department announced.

Hongfei Hang is charged with larceny over $1,200 by false pretense, larceny over $250 from a +60/disabled person, and attempted larceny from a +60/disabled person, according to Everett police. 

Everett Police Chief Paul Strong said in a statement that after learning the veteran, a 77-year-old Everett housing resident, was “swindled” out of $20,000 cash on Thursday evening, members of the department began investigating. 

When the alleged scammer, later identified as Huang, contacted the elderly man again, telling him to hand over $32,000 in cash outside his home, police put together an undercover operation, Strong said. 

“After several hours of planning and patience an individual arrived and was subsequently arrested for the $20,000.00 theft the evening prior and the attempted theft of another $32,000.00 in cash,” he said. 

Strong told The Boston Globe they believe that Huang is part of a criminal enterprise that conned the victim, Charles Fagone. Fagone, who has cancer and a bullet in his knee from his military service, told the newspaper that the scheme began when he received an email Thursday that appeared to be from Amazon claiming he had charges on his debit and credit cards.

The 77-year-old, who doesn’t have a credit card, told the Globe he spoke with people over the phone who told him to withdraw $25,000 to be put in a “bank box” where his money would be secure. The people on the phone allegedly coached him to tell bank staff the funds were for buying a car or home. 

The scammers allegedly told Fagone an agent would come pick up the money. 

“The man gave me the code, and I handed him the bag with the money in it,” Fagone told the Globe. “And he just walked away, no questions, no anything. And that’s what got me a little skeptical.”

When the man called the next day demanding more money, Fagone said, he decided to call the police. 

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Fagone recoup the money he lost in the scam.

“This is unfortunately another case where these vile people prey on our unsuspecting elderly,” Strong wrote in his statement about the alleged incident. “Please remind your elderly family members that if anyone attempts to reach out to them by phone or email asking for a large sum of money that it is a scam. It’s probably also a good idea to have a two-step process if your family member wants to withdraw a large amount of money from their bank account that a family member needs to be present.”

Attorney information for Huang was not immediately available.