North Andover Woman Scammed Elderly NH Resident: Prosecutors

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — A North Andover woman was charged with scamming an elderly New Hampshire resident out of $20,000, according to a statement from New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella.

Rachel Chen, 25, was charged with a single count of theft by deception, as principal/accomplice.

Chen acted with accomplices to deceive the 75-year-old victim and purposely created the false impression that the victim's accounts had been compromised.

The victim received an email alleged to be from Microsoft. The message indicated that her financial account had been compromised and provided her with a telephone number to call.

The victim called the number and spoke with a person who forwarded her to another person who purported to work for the victim's bank. The victim was instructed to withdraw $20,000 cash and tape it up in a box, according to prosecutors.

The victim was told that a person hired by the FBI would come to pick up the box. The victim then turned over the box to a person matching Chen’s description, prosecutors said.

Chen faces a maximum prison sentence of up to 15 years as well as a $4,000 fine.

She is currently being held on charges of conspiracy to commit theft by deception and accomplice to commit theft by deception in Merrimack County for similar alleged conduct, according to prosecutors.