PRINCETON, W.Va. — Mercer County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a man they believe is tied to a wide fraud ring across the nation scamming unsuspecting people.
Li Wei, 30, who has a California driver’s license was arrested in Mercer County soon after he was observed taking a box of money from a woman’s home. Deputies arrested him as he left the home.
“He did have a California drivers license with a California address, but additional identifying documents showed he was here on a visa. We have made contact with the appropriate authorities to make sure they know that he has been arrested while here on a visa,” said Captain Steven Sommers with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department.
Mercer County authorities were alerted to the scam by a deputy with the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan. According to Sommers the detective there had been investigating a similar crime and through evidence collected noticed an active fraud in progress as Wei was travelling to Princeton to collect a box of cash from the West Virginia victim. Officers were able to track his movements, set up surveillance on the home, and arrested him as he was leaving.
“Li Wei drove to this house, we identified him and watched him pick up the package and then conducted a traffic stop where the box was found and other evidence,” said Sommers.
Wei is part of what authorities believe is a nationwide network of criminal actors and there may be additional charges against him in North Carolina.
According to Sommers the victim in Princeton had a legitimate order which arrived from Amazon, but the clothes were the wrong size. According to Sommers, the scam was initiated when the victim attempted to do a return and exchange.
“She Googled how to contact Amazon customer service. One of the first links that popped up she clicked and it turned out to be a phishing site, but she believed she was speaking to a true representative of Amazon,” he said.
The scammer was able to claim he could detect fraudulent activity on her credit card and put her in touch with a “bank representative” from her own bank. According to the victim, she noticed some red flags, but dismissed them because she was the one who initiated the contact.
“A lot of people are used to scams initiated by a third party. They get a call or an email, this scam wasn’t issued by a third party. This scam is actually issued by the victim calling,” he explained.
As for Wei, he faces felony charges in Mercer County where his bail is set at $100,000 however, he’s also being held on immigration charges and there is no bail set for those. He’s stuck in the lockup until the case is handled. Sommers said he may face additional charges in other states and will then need to deal with his situation with his immigration visa status.