FAIRFIELD, CT (WFSB) – Two men from New York were charged with conspiracy to commit larceny and fraud for scamming two Fairfield residents out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, police said.
The men were identified as 40-year-old Le Chen of Flushing, NY and 37-year-old Fangzeng Huang of Brooklyn, NY.
Le Chen and Fangzeng Huang were arrested by Fairfield police for two separate gold scams.(Fairfield police)
In the first case, Le directed a victim to withdraw money to buy gold in June 2025, police said. The funds were later collected by a courier.
According to police, the victim lost about $166,000.
Police charged Le with conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree telephone fraud. He was held on a $175,000 bond and faced a judge on Tuesday.
Police said the second case involved Fangzeng persuading another Fairfield resident to convert gold into assets in Sept. 2025.
The funds in this case were also given to people who posed as couriers. Police said the resident lost about $291,070.
Fangzeng was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree telephone fraud. He was held on a $650,000 bond and also faced a judge on Tuesday.
“While the tactics used in these incidents were similar, each investigation involved different victims and different suspects,” Fairfield police noted in their report. “Combined, these two investigations represent more than $457,000 in reported losses to Fairfield residents.”
Police said the cases required extensive work, which included the review of surveillance, financial tracing across multiple banks, and the execution of search warrants on digital records.
They also warned residents that scammers have been increasingly targeting older people by impersonating government agencies, financial institutions, or law enforcement.
The scams often involve instructions to withdraw large sums of money, purchase gold, or provide assets to a courier. They said those demands should be red flags.
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