Most of the time, when residents are scammed out of a lot of money, there’s very little police can do since many of the scammers are overseas in places like India, Pakistan, Nigeria among others. But recently, a Lyndhurst resident who was bilked out of $75,000+ and who was under the belief the scheme was actually an “investment opportunity,” got a nice measure of justice from a keen Lyndhurst detective as he and the police found the scammer, hardly overseas, but mere miles away in Queens.
And even better, the case was cleared in just 10 days.
According to Capt. Paul Haggerty, the Lyndhurst PD’s public information officer:
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, a Lyndhurst resident reported falling victim to a unsolicited scam, in which they received initial contact via text message April 20. Over the course of the next three months, the resident continued to both digitally and personally transfer money to the scammer — sending more than $75,000 — with the belief this was an investment opportunity.
Det. Michael Giangeruso was assigned the case, and through a myriad of investigative tactics, he was able to identify a pattern in which this organized criminal enterprise was operating.
On Friday, Aug. 22, at approximately 9:47 a.m., detectives and patrol officers from the department were able to apprehend Congxi Chen, 33, of Flushing, Queens.
Chen was charged with money laundering, theft by deception and two counts of conspiracy, all second degree crimes. Afterward, he was released on a complaint summons pending his initial appearance in superior court in Bergen County.
Chief Richard L. Jarvis Jr. commended Det. Giangeruso and the officers involved in the coordinated operation for their teamwork and professionalism in apprehending Chen.
“This incident serves as a reminder to residents that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Jarvis said. “Too often, we are unable to close these cases with an arrest due to their complexity, as a majority of these culprits are overseas. We are proud of the work put forth by all involved in bringing Mr. Chen to justice.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.