The 'Victim' Was an Undercover Officer: Two Dallas Men Charged as Scam Cash Couriers in Arkansas Sting

Published Oct. 14, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

Scam callers who persuade older people to withdraw their savings eventually need someone to collect the cash at the door. In late September, two men drove to Texarkana, Arkansas, expecting to pick up money from elderly fraud victims, authorities say. Both times, the person waiting for them was an undercover officer [1][2].

Lin Chenghao, 45, and Mohamed Faizal Haque, 39, both of Dallas, each face two Class B felony charges in Miller County Circuit Court. The charges are theft of property over $25,000 and unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, Texarkana Today reported, citing court records [1].

Important: Both men are accused, not convicted, and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Neither has been charged with running the overseas scam operations investigators were targeting [2].

How the sting worked

The operation ran from Sept. 21 to Sept. 26, 2026. Investigators posed as elderly fraud targets and kept talking with scammers until the scammers arranged for someone to collect cash in person [1][2].

The team included:

• the Miller County Sheriff's Office
• the 8th South Drug Task Force
• the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department
• Homeland Security Investigations
• the FBI
• the 9th West Drug Task Force

Two independent scam investigators known as Chappy Grey and Bullracksin also took part, along with Trilogy Media, a YouTube channel known for confronting scammers on camera [1].

According to a news release on the operation, quoted by Texarkana Today, the team spent the week "baiting and intercepting scammers who came into our community to steal money from the elderly." Investigators said the work:

• helped identify international scam organizations stealing millions of dollars from Americans;
• turned up real victims in Texas, Florida, Arkansas and other states, whom investigators contacted to stop payments already under way;
• produced bank account numbers and cash-drop addresses, which were reported to the appropriate agencies [1].

Those wider losses were attributed to the suspected networks. They were not amounts personally collected by Lin or Haque [2].

Keeping scammers on the phone had a side benefit, investigators said. Time spent talking to an undercover officer was time they could not spend "calling your grandparents and other potential victims" [1].

"Elder-fraud schemes often cause devastating financial and emotional harm to victims and their families," said Matt Wright, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans. "This operation demonstrates the importance of strong partnerships among federal, state, and local law enforcement to identify those facilitating these crimes, protect vulnerable individuals, and disrupt the criminal networks behind them" [1].

The people charged

Mohamed Faizal Haque, 39, of Dallas

• Arrested Sept. 22, 2026, by Miller County sheriff's deputies [1].
• On Oct. 1, prosecutors filed a criminal information in case 46CR-26-516. It charges him with theft of property valued above $25,000, under Arkansas Code § 5-36-103(b)(1)(A), and unauthorized use of another person's property to facilitate a crime, under § 5-74-105. Each is a Class B felony carrying five to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. The filing identifies the property owner only as a "confidential victim" [2].
• Bond was set at $25,000. He was released Sept. 25 after a bail bond company posted it [1].

Lin Chenghao, 45, of Dallas

• Arrested Sept. 23, 2026, by the 8th South Drug Task Force during another arranged cash pickup [2].
• At his first appearance on Sept. 25, he was accused of the same two offenses. Bond was set at $200,000, and a public defender was appointed [1][2].
• He was held in the Miller County jail as of Oct. 6. As of that date, Texarkana Today reported, prosecutors had not yet filed a formal criminal information against him [1].

Both men were scheduled to return to court on Oct. 13, 2026. Status pending: we found no report of what happened at that hearing.

Red flags: the cash courier scam

Courier pickups usually come at the end of a longer con. It may be a "tech support" or bank-fraud call, a fake government agent or a "grandchild in jail" story. Warning signs:

• Anyone telling you to withdraw cash, gold or other valuables and hand them to a courier, driver or "agent" at your door.
• Instructions to keep the withdrawal secret from family or the bank.
• Callers who have remote access to your computer or phone. Investigators in this case warned that scammers often keep that access once a scam begins: "They can see and hear everything going on in your home in live view," the release said [1].
• Pressure that goes on for hours or days until you are exhausted.

No legitimate bank, government agency or police department sends a stranger to collect your savings to "protect" them.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Hang up and call back using a number you look up yourself for your bank, the agency or the relative involved.
2. Don't hand over cash or valuables to anyone who shows up to collect them. Call local police.
3. Remove remote-access apps and have a trusted person or technician check your devices.
4. Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. If you are 60 or older, the National Elder Fraud Hotline is 1-833-372-8311.
5. Check on older relatives. HSI's Wright urged families to talk with them about common scam tactics and to report suspected fraud promptly [1].

Case status (as of Oct. 14, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 14, 2026	Source
Mohamed Faizal Haque, 39, Dallas	Miller County (Ark.) Circuit Court, No. 46CR-26-516	Charged by criminal information (Oct. 1, 2026) with two Class B felonies; released on $25,000 bond; Oct. 13 hearing outcome not reported (status pending)	[1], [2]
Lin Chenghao, 45, Dallas	Miller County (Ark.) Circuit Court	Arrested Sept. 23, 2026; accused of the same two offenses at first appearance; held on $200,000 bond as of Oct. 6; no formal information reported as of Oct. 6; Oct. 13 hearing outcome not reported (status pending)	[1], [2]

Statuses can change. Charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.

Sources

1. Field Walsh, "Two 'money mules' arrested in Texarkana during weeklong sting targeting scams on the elderly," Texarkana Today, Oct. 6, 2026. https://txktoday.com/crime/two-money-mules-arrested-in-texarkana-during-weeklong-sting-targeting-scams-on-the-elderly/
2. Milos Komnenovic, "Two Men Came to Texarkana to Collect an Elderly Victim's Cash. The 'Victim' Was an Undercover Officer," AOL, Oct. 8, 2026. https://www.aol.com/articles/two-men-came-texarkana-collect-164636000.html

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