PAULDING COUNTY — The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest after an elderly woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars.

The suspect posed as a caller from the U.S. Treasury and claimed the victim’s bank account was compromised. She was told the account could be protected if she handed over the cash.

Convinced by the scammer, the victim withdrew more than $50,000 over three months.

“When is the last time somebody called and demanded you meet them for money? We can’t get the message out enough and clear: It is a scam,” said Paulding’s Jordan Yuodis.

The bank notified family members who then called law enforcement, prompting an undercover sting by Paulding detectives.

“We hear about this all the time, and more often than not, these scammers aren’t caught, so the unique thing about this specific situation is us being able to catch one of the people involved,” said Yuodis.

According to Yuodis, Zishan Zeng of Gwinnett County faces multiple charges, but he calls her a “small fish” in the operation.

Officials are hopeful that this investigation leads to more arrests.