Two men from New York State have been accused of exploiting an elderly couple in Callaway County.
According to court filings, the victim called the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office in September 2024.
The 73-year-old man stated that in June 2024, he and his 72-year-old wife took out a $250,000 home equity loan to help their family in Mongolia.
The couple wanted to invest in cryptocurrency and contacted someone named “Andy.”
“Andy” stated that he and another man will come to pick up the cash.
The following day, the two males, now identified as Kezhong Xie of Staten Island, NY, and Xiaolin Zheng of Brooklyn, NY, were pulled over in Illinois for a traffic violation.
According to court filings, the males provided different responses about where they had been.
A K-9 officer was dispatched and alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle.
Troopers from the Illinois State Patrol reported finding the $250,000 cash, as well as gaming machine parts.
The men were detained in Illinois for money laundering.
Prosecutors in Callaway County accused them of felony counts of theft totaling $25,000 or more.
We issued arrest warrants for both males.