Maine Police Warning Residents About Sophisticated New Scam

The Maine Department of Public Safety's Shannon Moss has passed along a warning from the Cumberland Police Department about a sophisticated new courier scam.

According to the press release, on March 5th, the Cumberland Police Department was notified that a resident had recently lost about $10,000 in a scam.

The resident had been convinced, through a sophisticated online scam, to convert their financial assets to gold bars. Those bars were then given to a courier.

The press release goes on to say:

Investigators determined that the scam was still in progress, with the perpetrators attempting to obtain additional assets from the victim. In response, detectives organized a targeted sting operation. On March 10, 2025, at approximately 6:00 PM, authorities apprehended Zhangqi Xie, a 44-year-old male with an address in Flushing, New York. Xie was arrested in the Foreside area after he traveled to Cumberland with the intent of further victimizing the resident.

Xie is reportedly being held at the Cumberland County Jail on $500,000 bail.

*NOTE - All suspects are considered innocent until being found guilty in a court of law*

Several other law enforcement agencies assisted the Cumberland Police Department in this case. They include the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Yarmouth Police Department, and the Falmouth Police Department.