A police sting has turned up a suspect who authorities believe was involved in a scam that cost a 93-year-old Napa man $20,000, officials said.

On October 27, the victim told police she gave the money to a courier after a possible scam that began when she received an email about a supposed PayPal transaction, Napa police said in a news release.

The Napa man called a number provided in the email, provided some personally identifiable information and was told he had been paid a $30,000 overdraft. The person on the other end of the line told the man to take out the cash and put it in a box for a courier to retrieve.

The man withdrew $20,000, put it in a box and gave it to a courier, later identified as Zhi Deng, 28, who drove to the man’s residence in Napa. He said he would take the rest to Deng by October 28.

Napa police helped set up a pickup time for Oct. 28, and a detective arrested Deng around 11:50 a.m. He is suspected of obtaining money through false pretenses, elder abuse and grand theft, police said.

Investigators discovered that Deng was a courier from New York who was sent to California to collect money from elderly people who are being scammed. He worked throughout the Bay Area and told authorities there were other couriers like him nearby, according to the news release.

Deng was booked into the Napa County Jail, but was later bailed out on October 28.

Officials said investigators have not recovered the 93-year-old victim’s $20,000.

You can contact Staff Editor Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.