ESCANABA, MI— An Illinois man has been arrested for scamming a Delta County resident out of more than a half-million dollars.
Michigan State Police from the Gladstone Post started an investigation in July, after an Escanaba resident said he’d talked to a man he thought was a cryptocurrency investor. At one point, he gave the suspect $500,000, thinking he was investing in Bitcoin. Afterwards, an additional $165,000 in cash was mailed to various addresses out of state.
The suspect was identified as Zhong Jiang, 34, of Orland Hills, Illinois. He allegedly had connections to organized crime.
MSP extradited Jiang from Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he was being held for committing similar crimes, and lodged him in the Delta County Jail on a $400,000 bond.
On Monday, Jiang was arraigned on one count of larceny by conversion—$100,000 or more. His next court date is October 29.
