Police captured a suspect who authorities believe was involved in a scam that cost a 93-year-old Napa man $20,000, authorities said.

The victim told police on Oct. 27 that he gave the money to a courier following a possible fraud scam that began when he received an email about the alleged PayPal transaction. Napa police said in a news release:.

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

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

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

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

Deng was sent to Napa County jail but was released on bail on October 28.

Investigators were unable to recover $20,000 from the 93-year-old victim, authorities said.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at [email protected]. @madi.smals on X (Twitter).