Man arrested in Springdale Township sting on scam charges escapes custody

A Chinese national charged in connection with a large-scale scam in Springdale Township walked away from an alternative housing facility last month after being released there from jail.

Zhudi Chen, 40, whom police have accused of stealing more than $100,000, left the facility in Pittsburgh using a fourth-floor fire escape, according to authorities. He remains at large, sheriff’s office spokesman Mike Manko said.

Chen had been denied bail twice. According to court documents, he has no connection to the area and had been living in New York.

But, following a hearing, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski allowed Chen to enter a facility run by alternative housing agency Renewal Inc. on the Boulevard of the Allies on Oct. 22.

Borkowski granted the request for alternative housing because the charges were nonviolent, the defendant had never failed to show up for court and had no prior convictions for any crime.

The request for alternative housing was also supported by pre-trial services personnel.

Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief Michael Naviglia said in October his department worked with the Pittsburgh FBI office to craft an undercover sting operation that led to Chen’s arrest in Springdale Township.

He was charged with felony theft and financial exploitation. The sheriff’s office has now filed felony escape charges against him.

Police allege Chen’s group of scammers extracted about $130,000 from a 76-year-old township man.

Naviglia said it was his department’s first successful undercover sting operation for an alleged fraud scheme, which made the escape all the more vexing.

“For something like this to happen is very frustrating,” he said.

According to Naviglia, the scammers claimed to be federal agents investigating a rogue PNC employee who had supposedly been withdrawing money from client accounts.

The scammers installed malware on the man’s computer, making it appear they had deposited money in his accounts before instructing him to make large cash withdrawals, Naviglia said.

According to a criminal complaint filed against Chen, three in-person hand-offs of cash occurred before police became involved.

The resident handed off the cash to at least two people, according to the complaint.

In late September, the scammers asked the man to acquire more than $103,000 worth of gold for a subsequent hand-off, which was organized with police. When a white Volkswagen with out-of-state plates dropped off Chen at the man’s house to retrieve the gold, police said, Naviglia arrested Chen with assistance from FBI agents.

He described the scam as a “large-scale, international operation.”

The Springdale Township man, Naviglia said, is not the only victim.

According to his arrest papers, Chen admitted entering the country illegally and told police he had previously been apprehended by Homeland Security agents.

Pittsburgh FBI spokesman Bradford Arick declined a TribLive request for comment.

Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a TribLive request for comment.