Hong Zhang, a 40-year-old Chinese national from Queens, is jailed in Dakota County on $500,000 bail after investigators allege he traveled from New York to collect cashier's checks stolen from an elderly St. Paul man in a $670,000 fraud. Police say Zhang drove a BMW X5 with New York plates to a vacant Lakeville home, retrieved a parcel from the porch and was stopped as he left. Investigators say the vehicle and residences connected to Zhang contained fraudulent identification, bank documents and more than $2 million in uncashed checks, suggesting the allegations may extend beyond the Lakeville victim.
Court documents describe a rapid response after the St. Paul man's daughter reported the suspected theft to police on September 10. According to the Pioneer Press, the man had sent two cashier's checks by overnight delivery to the Lakeville address that day. Lakeville police monitored the vacant property and stopped Zhang after he collected the parcel, according to the newspaper's account and the court documents. FedEx could not intercept those checks because they were already out for delivery, but it stopped another package addressed to the same construction company and Lakeville address after Alex Johannes contacted the company.
What Investigators Found in the BMW
Zhang was charged September 11 with aiding and abetting felony theft by swindle over $35,000. The Dakota County charge is under Minnesota Statute § 609.52. Investigators searching the BMW reported finding six cellphones, bank deposit slips, cashier's checks totaling $68,760, $54,000 and $149,000, and a $120,500 Bank of America wire-transfer receipt. They also reported recovering four New Jersey driver's licenses bearing Zhang's photograph under apparently false names, along with four matching Social Security cards.
Zhang told investigators he was in Minnesota on a business trip and had simply been asked to pick up packages sent to the wrong address, per an affidavit cited in the Pioneer Press report. But according to a criminal complaint, he later admitted he knew he was collecting cashier's checks that were not addressed to him. He said he was staying at an Airbnb in Richfield, and investigators later gathered five packages from that residence, including two found outside by Richfield investigators containing cashier's checks totaling more than $550,000.
Related Cases and Reporting Options
The allegations also fit a broader pattern in which couriers collect proceeds in person. The Justice Department's elder-justice case appendix lists a separate federal case, 2:24-cr-00387-SPG, in which a defendant was arrested at victims' Encino residence while attempting to retrieve $35,000 from two older victims. The case differs from the Lakeville allegations in its location, amount and reported federal case status. National Internet Crime Complaint Center figures also require caution: according to the FBI's 2024 IC3 Annual Report, complainants are not required to provide an age range, limiting how directly the totals can be interpreted as measurements of elder fraud. For families in Dakota County, suspected maltreatment of a vulnerable adult can be reported to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center at 1-844-880-1574 or online, according to Dakota County Adult Protection. The county advises calling 911 when someone faces immediate danger.
A Basement Bedroom Full of Fake IDs
A search of a basement bedroom at the property turned up 11 New Jersey driver's licenses bearing Zhang's picture under different names, 11 matching Social Security cards, and 12 debit cards. A backpack in the room contained envelopes similar to those found inside the BMW. Minnesota Secretary of State paperwork filed September 2 shows two purported businesses were incorporated with addresses in Shoreview and Inver Grove Heights, filings investigators are examining as part of the broader case.
The pattern fits a tactic federal authorities have flagged as increasingly common. The FBI's Boston Division warned that fraudsters were using physical couriers to collect bulk cash or gold bars directly from victims or drop-off sites, according to the FBI.
Prosecutors Cite Flight Risk in Bail Fight
In a September 11 court filing, Dakota County prosecutors sought up to $1 million without conditions, arguing that Zhang had no Minnesota ties and had traveled there to defraud victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He remained jailed on $500,000 bail, or $250,000 with conditions that include staying in Minnesota and surrendering his passport. His only prior Minnesota record is a June speeding conviction: He was cited for driving 79 mph in a 60 mph zone on U.S. 169 in Brooklyn Center and paid a $118 fine in July.
Lakeville Police Chief Brad Paulson said the investigation may have exposed only part of the group's activity. No one else has been arrested, and authorities are working to identify possible victims in other states, with federal authorities assisting. Paulson said the timing of the daughter's report and the police response was critical to keeping the cashier's checks from being cashed, and urged residents to verify requests for money.
Broader Fraud Trends
Nationally, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that people age 60 and older suffered the most losses and submitted the most complaints, per WJXT News4JAX.
The U.S. Department of Justice's National Elder Fraud Hotline, 833-FRAUD-11, assists victims age 60 and older with filing IC3 complaints. In this case, it was a daughter's quick call to St. Paul police that authorities say made the difference, giving investigators just enough time to trace the parcel to the vacant Lakeville home before the money disappeared for good.
