SAINT MARYS, Ohio (WLIO) - A man accused of scamming an Auglaize County resident is now in custody.
The Auglaize County Sheriff's Office says that a St. Marys resident reported on January 12 that he was the victim of being scammed out of a large sum of money. The victim had been speaking with scammers over the phone and through messaging. The scam involved the money being picked up by a male suspect. After a second sum of money was requested by the scammers, the victim reached out to law enforcement to report the scam. The victim worked with the sheriff's office and several other agencies, including the FBI, to arrange a second pickup.
On January 21st,, law enforcement arrested Chaun Zhao, a Chinese national, in the sting operation. He is currently in the Auglaize County Jail and has been charged with two counts of theft by deception.
January 22, 2026, Press Release from the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office:
The Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office took a report on January 12th, from a St. Marys Township, Auglaize County Resident advising he was scammed out of a large sum of money. The victim stated he was communicating with the scammers via telephone and messaging applications. The victim explained the scam started out as a work from home opportunity which rolled into an IT scam where the victim was directed to wire large sums of money and he would be provided his money in crypto currency to recover his lost funds. The victim did wire money to the scammers, and was then encouraged to provide another large sum of money to expedite his “case recovery.” The victim did then withdraw a large amount of money and a male suspect later arrived at the victim’s residence on another day to pick up the money.
After this first pick-up was completed the scammer’s continued to communicate with the victim and instructed him to provide an additional large sum of money. The victim realized at this point he is the victim of a scam, and contacted our office to make a theft report. During conversation between the victim and reporting deputy the victim agreed to cooperate with our office to investigate the suspects by continuing to communicate and arrange a second pick up. Our office coordinated with the Grand Lake Task Force, F.B.I. Lima Office and Safe Streets Task Force, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The second pick up was arranged for January 21st and the suspect arrived at the home as scheduled and was immediately arrested. The suspect, in the United States under legal documents, was identified as a citizen of the Peoples Republic of China. The suspect was transported to the Auglaize County Corrections Center where he was identified and charged with:
Chuan Zhao        43 yoa                  Brooklyn, New York
Ohio Revised Code 2913.02Â Â Theft by deception Felony 4th degree two counts
Assisting the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office with this investigation was the Grand Lake Task Force, F.B.I. Lima Office and Safe Streets Task Force, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Sheriff Vorhees wants to remind residents to be vigilant of scams and if you feel you are being scammed to reach out to local law enforcement immediately.
