Submitted photo A total of more than $139,000 in cash, gold coins and electronic devices, above left, was found inside a vehicle, above, by the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office Saturday morning.

Ulla

UPSHUR COUNTY – The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office arrested a New York man Saturday and seized more than $139,000 in cash, gold coins and electronic devices from the vehicle he was driving, police said.

Naymat Ulla of Buffalo, New York, was arrested and charged with multiple felonies. He is being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $650,000 cash-only bond.

On Friday, Sheriff Mike Coffman “was dispatched to a local bank in reference to a fraud investigation,” according to a Sheriff’s Office press release. Coffman “promptly notified the State Attorney General’s office investigator to inform them of the scam.”

Coffman and Chief Deputy Theron Caynor responded to the scene, and “upon establishing telephone contact with the scammers, a money pickup was arranged,” the press release states. Coffman then “alerted other deputies to assist and wait for the scammers to arrive in Upshur County to collect the cash. Sgt. (Tyler) Gordon was positioned at the pickup location, while Coffman and Caynor remained nearby to intervene and apprehend the occupants of the vehicle. ”

Later Friday evening, “the scammers contacted the victim again to reschedule the pickup” for 9 a.m. Saturday, according to the press release.

“Deputies reassumed their positions and waited,” the release states. “The scammer arrived at the pickup location and was taken into custody without incident.”

Ulla was arrested, and “a search of the vehicle yielded over $130,000 in cash, gold coins and electronic devices,” according to the release.

Ulla was transported to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail by Deputy Dakota Linger to await arraignment.

“The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office will collaborate closely with the West Virginia State Attorney General’s investigators, the FBI, and immigration investigators on this case,” the release states.