Suffolk DA recovers $30,000 for Northport senior in scam case

An 85-year-old Northport resident got $30,000 back after Suffolk investigators traced cash from a confidence scam to Franklin County, Georgia, and won a court order to return it. Prosecutors say the case shows how fast a fraud can move from a computer screen to a Suffolk front door.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the scam began on Sept. 29, 2025, when pop-up messages appeared on the woman’s home computer saying it had been compromised. She called the number on the screen and spent about two hours speaking with someone claiming to work for Apple, then was connected to another caller posing as a bank representative. That person told her multiple credit and debit cards in her name had been compromised and that $45,000 had been spent on pornographic websites.

The next day, prosecutors said, the woman was instructed to withdraw $30,000 and hand it over for safekeeping. Chao Chen, 34, of Queens, allegedly went to her Northport home and took the cash. The victim contacted Northport Village Police on Oct. 1, 2025, and on Oct. 2 the alleged scammers tried again, seeking another $30,000. Chen was charged with grand larceny in the third degree, and Guiming Zhu, 44, of Brooklyn, was charged with attempted grand larceny in the third degree.

District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said the case underscores why victims should not feel embarrassed and should alert law enforcement immediately, because money can sometimes be recovered before it is gone. The office thanked Northport Village Police, Franklin County Police in Georgia and other partners for helping identify suspects and recover the funds.

The case reflects a wider pattern of impersonation scams aimed at older adults. The Federal Trade Commission says reports from older adults of losses of $10,000 or more in impersonator scams rose more than fourfold from 2020 to 2024, while reports of losses above $100,000 rose nearly sevenfold. Suffolk officials have also been warning residents about increasingly sophisticated frauds, and Tierney’s office has been holding 2026 presentations on financial exploitation in Riverhead, Centereach, Copiague and East Northport.