CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A traffic stop in Chambers County led deputies to what they said is an international operation targeting senior citizens.<\/p>\n
Investigators said the driver had $50,000 in cash, which was money they said belonged to an elderly couple.<\/p>\n
Officials said this is part of a larger operation in the area that has stolen millions of dollars from seniors in southeast Texas.<\/p>\n
Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne told ABC13 the driver arrested was not acting alone and was sent from overseas.<\/p>\n
He said the man flew from out of the country to New York and drove down to Chambers County to collect the money.<\/p>\n
“We’re learning and realizing now they’ve collected millions of dollars, primarily all from seniors,” Sheriff Hawthorne said.<\/p>\n
The sheriff said deputies stopped a vehicle on Wednesday for failing to give a turn signal while changing lanes and for unsafe driving.<\/p>\n
After obtaining a search warrant, they said they found $50,000 in cash inside. They said it didn’t belong to the driver, Qinfei He, but instead to a retired Jefferson County couple.<\/p>\n
“They were seniors. They were retired, and this money was fraudulently obtained by him from them,” Hawthorne said. “Literally stealing their retirement is essentially what it really amounts to.”<\/p>\n
According to officials, the wife received calls from someone claiming to be a federal agent.<\/p>\n
The sheriff said the caller convinced her that their identities had been stolen, their finances were at risk, and that she needed to secretly withdraw $50,000 for safekeeping.<\/p>\n
Officials said the woman met up with the driver and gave him the cash. Sheriff Hawthorne said this was not the first time she was targeted by this group.<\/p>\n
“They needed her to cooperate and for her to not tell anybody, not even her husband,” Hawthorne said.<\/p>\n
He wasn’t, however, the person making the calls, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Instead, the sheriff said the man was sent from overseas to collect the money.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Hawthorne said this region has become a target for criminal networks operating outside the country.<\/p>\n
“Some of these refinery and chemical plant workers, they’ve retired very comfortably, and they have a lot of discretionary money,” the sheriff said.<\/p>\n
Hawthorne said he urges people to verify any call from someone claiming to be a federal or local official.<\/p>\n
“It’s just important people realize they just need to stop what they’re doing and make phone calls and verify,” he said. “If it’s not somebody that you know who it is, it’s probably fraud. Hang up.”<\/p>\n
Hawthorne said in these situations, the money typically gets put in offshore accounts and becomes untouchable. But thankfully, he said that wasn’t the case here.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, that money will be returned,” Hawthorne said. “It will be returned back to them.”<\/p>\n
Sheriff Hawthorne said investigators are now working with the FBI and the DA’s office to determine more charges and to identify everyone connected to this operation. He said there are additional victims in the area.<\/p>\n
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