An L.A. County man has been charged with posing as an IRS agent and defrauding a victim of $20,000. Officials announced the arrest of Ziquan Ou, a 31-year-old resident of Arcadia, on Sunday. Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Norco Station responded to a fraud report on May 1, where the victim detailed being extorted by a suspect claiming their financial accounts had been compromised. The investigation was initiated in the 2300 block of Kips Korner, KTLA reports.
Further complicating the fraud, the alleged phony IRS agent continued to contact the victim, seemingly seeking to further deceive and extract additional money. Ou arranged to personally collect the funds, a tactic which ultimately led to his apprehending. He was taken into custody after deputies, already present at the victim’s residence for investigation, observed him arrive to receive the money. In a statement obtained by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, “During the investigation, Ou arrived at the victim’s residence while deputies were present and was taken into custody without incident.”
Upon his arrest, a search warrant issued for Ou’s vehicle led to the discovery of items that further implicated him in criminal activity. A firearm, narcotics, and multiple identification cards were found by officials. Ou is now facing multiple fraud-related charges alongside possession of narcotics, and is booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center. Authorities believe Ou’s scheme may have more victims and urge anyone with information to come forward…