A Charlotte man is in the Rutherford County Detention Center on a $175,000 secured bond after deputies say an elderly Rutherford County man was talked into hand-delivering $22,000 in cash to a stranger who had threatened him with arrest over the phone.

Source: WCAB News (Rutherford County Sheriff's Office)

Dong Feng was arrested on November 11 in Cabarrus County and charged with extortion and obtaining property by false pretenses, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. Detectives transported him to the Rutherford County Detention Center after the arrest, and the sheriff's office said an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer was also placed on him.

How the sheriff's office says the $22,000 changed hands

The investigation opened on November 4, when a family member reported the scam to the sheriff's office, according to deputies. The victim had received a call from a man claiming there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest and demanding money for bond, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities said the victim was instructed to deliver the cash to an individual at the Family Dollar store in Green Hill, and that he hand-delivered $22,000 in cash. A warrant account of the case, reported from court records, says the victim is 81 years old and alleges the caller threatened to have him arrested if he refused to pay; that account notes the court records do not explain how contact was first made.

Investigators said they identified Feng as the suspect. He was residing in Charlotte and possessed a New York driver's license, according to the sheriff's office account. Law enforcement located and took him into custody in Cabarrus County on November 11 — one week after the relative's report.

The charges — and the ICE detainer

Feng is booked on two charges: obtaining property by false pretenses and extortion, both arising from the alleged threat call and cash handover. The sheriff's office identified him as a Chinese national and said an ICE detainer was placed on him alongside the state charges — a step that asks the jail to notify federal immigration authorities in connection with his custody.

The sheriff's warning every family should hear

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office used the arrest to repeat a warning it gives in every case of this kind: law enforcement will never call demanding money to avoid arrest, and will never instruct a resident to deliver cash or pay through a cryptocurrency ATM. Anyone who receives such a call should hang up and contact law enforcement directly, the office said.

The pattern in this case — a warrant threat, urgency, and an in-person cash handover at a familiar local store — is the pattern deputies across the Carolinas say is now routinely aimed at older residents who answer calls at home. The fact that a relative, not the victim, first reported this case on November 4 is also typical: family members often spot the loss first, which is why deputies urge families to agree in advance that no one pays a caller demanding cash, whatever the threat.

Why this matters beyond one county

For Punjabi and other immigrant families in North Carolina — including truckers whose elderly parents may be home alone during long runs — this case is a practical warning, not an abstract one. A caller who knows a name, claims a warrant exists, and names a nearby store for a handover can sound convincing. The sheriff's rule is simple and absolute: no real deputy, court or bondsman collects bond money by phone or at a store parking lot.

What happens next

Feng remains at the Rutherford County Detention Center on the $175,000 secured bond with the ICE detainer noted by the sheriff's office, and his case will move through the Rutherford County courts on the extortion and false-pretense charges. The sheriff's office has not announced additional victims or additional charges in the reporting so far; anyone in the county who received a similar warrant-threat call is urged to contact the sheriff's office directly rather than the caller.