Inside the Phenix City sting that used a $1 bill to bust a $100,000 scam
A 37-year-old man was sentenced May 22 in Russell County following an internet scam investigation by the Phenix City Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service, according to Russell County District Attorney Rick Chancey.
Xie Dongxi was sentenced by Judge David Johnson to 120 months for the charge of first-degree attempted theft, Chancey told the Ledger-Enquirer.
On May 30, 2025, PCPD investigators and Secret Service agents prepared to meet with an unknown person in the parking lot of the Synovus Bank branch on 13th Street in Phenix City, Chancey said.
The Secret Service had received information from a Georgia resident that she had been scammed by an online financial adviser, according to Chancey.
The woman made a fake online persona, contacted the scammers online and told them she is a man who had just sold a business and had $100,000 in cash to invest in Bitcoin, according to Chancey.
Chancey said the scammers indicated they would send a representative to a designated location in Phenix City and show the “investor” a $1 bill with a certain serial number so the “investor” would know he is the proper person to give the $100,000.
A PCPD investigator posed as the “investor” in the truck the woman described to the scammers, Chancy said, and waited in the parking lot at the designated time.
After a blue SUV pulled into the parking lot, an Asian man exited the SUV and got into the “investor’s” truck and showed the investigator the dollar bill, at which point PCPD arrested him and charged him with first-degree attempted theft, according to Chancey.
Chancey said investigators found the suspect had traveled from New York City to Atlanta and rented a car to drive to Phenix City.
The suspect entered a guilty plea after serving approximately one year in the Russell County Jail, according to Chancey.
Dongxi has been taken into custody by U.S. officials to address his immigration status, according to Chancey.
Chancey said his office and PCPD urge citizens to use extreme caution when dealing with internet scams.
“Work only with reputable individuals or companies you have carefully vetted, and make sure you know exactly who you are dealing with,” Chancey said. “Do not conduct business with supposed ‘investors’ or ‘advisors’ using cash or cash apps.”