A police operation arrested a suspect who authorities say was involved in a scam that cost a 93-year-old Napa man $20,000, officials said.

On Oct. 27, the victim told police he gave the money to a courier after a possible scam that began when he received an email about a purported PayPal transaction. Napa police said in a press release.

The Napa man called a number listed in the email, gave personally identifying information and was told he had received an excess amount of $30,000. The person on the other end of the line told the man to withdraw the money in cash and put it in a box for a courier to collect.

The man withdrew $20,000, put it in a box and handed it to a courier, later identified as Zhi Deng, 28, who drove to the man’s residence in Napa. He said he would deliver the remainder 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. He is suspected of obtaining money under false pretenses, elder abuse and robbery, police said.

Investigators discovered that Deng was a courier from New York sent to California to collect money from elderly victims of scams. 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 released on bail on October 28.

Authorities said investigators did not recover $20,000 from the 93-year-old victim.

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