In Sheridan, a resident faced a distressing situation in November. After losing over $150,000 in an alleged cryptocurrency investment, the suspected perpetrator was eventually arrested. This incident unfolded through a series of events involving a cryptocurrency broker posing as "Sophia" and convincing the victim to wire money.

Uncovering the Cryptocurrency Fraud Saga in Sheridan

Initial Contact and Investment

During the summer, the resident received a call from a person representing themselves as a cryptocurrency broker. They were persuaded to wire $100,000 from their account to an "Zap Solutions" account at Cross Creek Bank in New Jersey, believing it would be invested in the EDX cryptocurrency market. This digital asset marketplace was supposed to allow institutional investors to trade cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.However, things took a turn when the victim was later informed that their investment had done well and they now had more than $700,000 in their account. But to make withdrawals, they were told they needed to pay a "blockchain fee" of $50,075.

Second Wire and Deception

On September 19th, the victim wired another $50,075 to the "Zap Solutions" account for the fee. Unfortunately, despite these transactions, they were never able to access any of the money. When they directly contacted EDX Market, they were informed that they did not have an account there and what had happened was a scam.The victim was contacted again and asked to pay another blockchain fee. He refused to wire any more money. The alleged EDX employee then agreed to come pick up the cash in person.

Arrest and Investigation

On November 14th between 2 and 2:30 pm, a woman named Jiahui Chen, who had a California driver's license and was driving an apparent rental car, parked near the victim's residence and went inside. Law enforcement had set up surveillance and followed her in. She was arrested for conspiracy to commit felony theft. Law enforcement found three bank cards in her purse with different names on them.Conspiracy to commit theft as charged in this case is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years, a fine of not more than $10,000 or both.According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023. This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of being cautious in the cryptocurrency world.