11 Personal data breaches, confidence and romance scams, non-payment or non-delivery scams, investment scams, elder fraud, anti-scam, anti-money laundering, charge, sentencing 2024.4.29-5.15 ✓Attorney ✓Gov ✓Police ✓Press ✓U.S.,美国

Massachusetts woman arrested in connection to multiple scams in two New Hampshire towns, NH AG says

Authorities are investigating multiple scam incidents in New Hampshire involving two older people.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said Rachel Chen, 25, of North Andover, Massachusetts, was arrested on March 14 in connection to multiple scam incidents in Nashua and Allenstown.

According to authorities, a person in their 60s from Allenstown said they were a victim of a financial scam after receiving a message in December 2023 from a party posing as Microsoft. Authorities said the message warned the victim their computer was infected with viruses and their financial accounts were compromised.

Authorities said the victim later received a call from a party posing as a representative from their bank, who told the victim to transfer funds to an alternative bank account in order to protect their money.

The AG’s Office said the victim sent and deposited multiple checks in 2024 totaling over $200,000 to what they believed to be their bank.

Authorities said the victim received a message in March from what they believed to be a courier of their bank requesting the victim deliver an additional $22,000 in cash inside a box. After the victim contacted the Allenstown police about the planned delivery, authorities set up a sting operation at the victim’s home in Allenstown.

When Chen arrived at the victim’s home on March 14, authorities said the victim handed Chen the box she believed to have contained $22,000. Authorities said the box did not contain cash, and Chen was later arrested in Allenstown.

After arresting Chen, authorities said they searched her phone and found Chen may be connected to another scam incident in Nashua.

The AG’s Office said a 75-year-old woman from Nashua was contacted by a party posing as Microsoft and said her financial account was compromised.

Authorities said the Nashua victim was later contacted by a party posing as her bank and ordered her to deliver $20,000 in cash inside of a sealed box. Authorities said the victim was informed that a member of the FBI would come by her Nashua home to pick up the box.

Authorities said Chen, who was allegedly posing as a member of the FBI, was successful in obtaining $20,000 in cash from the woman at her Nashua home on March 4.

Authorities said Chen has been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit theft by deception and accomplice to commit theft by deception.

Chen is scheduled to appear at the Merrimack County Superior Courthouse on June 20.

The AG’s Office said they are investigating both scam incidents in Nashua and Allenstown.

Authorities are advising the public to contact their local police if they believe they are a victim of a scam. The public is also advised to contact their local computer service business if they believe their devices are infected with viruses.

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涉嫌网上诈骗长者 麻州华女被诉

近期，麻州一名华人女子被指控从事网络诈骗，盗取新罕布什尔州一名75岁长者的2万美元。

新罕州检察长办公室5月15日公布，居住在麻州北安多福（North Andover）的25岁女子Rachel Chen被起诉一项欺诈盗窃罪名。

官方公布，在这起案件中，嫌犯首先伪装成微软（Microsoft）人员，向75岁的受害者发送电子邮件，声称她的金融账号被盗，并要求她拨打一个电话号码来解决此问题。

受害人打通电话之后，接听者又将她转接到另一人的电话。接听者声称自己在受害者的银行工作，并要求受害者将2万美元现金装进一个盒子里，交给一名“受雇于联邦调查局（FBI）的人士”。受害者遵循了这些指示，并将盒子交给了一名符合电话中描述的人。

检方指控Rachel Chen独自或与其他人合谋从事欺诈。若定罪，她最高可面临15年刑期及4000美元罚款。

15 charged in Southern California insurance fraud ring
May 14, 2024

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Fifteen Southern California residents, including an employee with the California Highway Patrol, are accused of being part of an organized crime ring that colluded to profit from fraudulent auto insurance claims totaling over $350,000, according to the California Department of Insurance.

The Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force began its investigation in November 2022 after it was reported a CHP non-sworn employee, Rosa Isela Santistevan, 55, of Irvine, was allegedly selling traffic crash reports that contained personal information of people who had been involved in collisions across Southern California.

Numerous search warrants were served and over 3,500 CHP traffic crash reports were recovered from the home of 26-year-old Esmeralda Parga of Pomona, officials said. Authorities were able to link Parga to Santistevan through the alleged ringleader, 36-year-old Andre Angelo Reyes of Corona.

The investigation revealed it all began after Reyes befriended Santistevan and other CHP employees by donating to various CHP events and parties. That’s when Santistevan allegedly began printing and selling thousands of traffic reports to Reyes, who would then give those reports to Parga. Officials said Parga would then contact the people whose information was on the reports and pretend to be from their insurance company. Parga allegedly coordinated having those vehicles towed to repair centers that were misrepresented as approved by the insurance company.

Officials said Reyes and Parga would then deploy tow trucks – whose drivers were allegedly in on the scheme – and would pick up those vehicles and tow them to CA Collision, owned by 35-year-old Anthony Gomez of Jurupa Valley. Once there, the vehicles were “held hostage” and insurance companies were contacted demanding cash payments from them to have the vehicles released.

Additional evidence showed the alleged crime ring was involved in other types of insurance fraud schemes including “collusive collisions.” One such collision was allegedly recorded by one of the suspects and discovered on his phone during a search warrant, officials said. In that video, one of the suspects is seen intentionally crashing a BMW into a Polaris Slingshot. Officials said two separate crash reports were claimed.

The 15 suspects have been identified as Andre Angelo, 36, of Corona; Rosa Isela Santistevan, 55, of Irvine; Esmeralda Parga, 26, of Pomona; Anthony Gomez, 35 of Jurupa Valley; Ezequiel Baltazar Orozco, 30, of Los Angeles; Antonio Terraas Perez Jr., 19, of Los Angeles; Erika Garcia, 31, of Los Angeles; Israel Avila Sandoval, 45, of Pomona; Luis Alberto Ramirez Jr., 32, of San Bernardino; Robert Arzac, 49, of West Covina; Antonio Ramirez Perez, 44, of Los Angeles; Brian Anthony Lopez, 25, of Anaheim; Emily Marie Boatman, 26, of Ontario; Ricardo Parga Jr., 23, of Pomona; and Steven Anthony Alfaro, 38, of Buena Park.

All 15 suspects – three of whom are not yet in custody – are being charged with insurance fraud, grand theft by trick, and false impersonation. Officials said the charges involved 19 fraudulent claims, resulting in a total loss of $353,035.

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CHP employee and 14 others charged in complex insurance fraud ring
May 10, 2024

Prosecutors charged a California Highway Patrol employee and 14 other Southern California residents for their alleged involvement in a complex insurance fraud ring that collected over $350,000 in fraudulent claims.

The California Department of Insurance said its Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force discovered the organization also allegedly held vehicles hostage until the victims’ insurance companies paid out ransoms.

The task force consists of the California Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

It started the investigation in November 2022 after learning that a non-sworn CHP employee, 55-year-old Rosa Isela Santistevan, unlawfully sold thousands of traffic collision reports to alleged ring leader Andre Angelo Reyes. He would then send the reports to 26-year-old Esmeralda Parga, according to the state insurance department.

Investigators claimed Parga would pose as the victims’ insurance company. The unsuspecting victims would coordinate with Parge to have their vehicles towed to CA collision, which was owned by another alleged member of the ring, 35-year-old Anthony Gomez. Once there, the repair shop would hold the car hostage until the insurance companies sent a cash payment to release it.

After issuing multiple search warrants, investigators recovered video showing the members intentionally crashing cars into each other to make fraudulent claims, according to the state insurance department. In one case, the suspects crashed a BMW sedan into a Polaris Slingshot before they filed two separate reports, claiming the crashes happened on the freeway.

The Department of Insurance said the suspects filed 19 fraudulent claims resulting in $353,035.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office charged all 15 suspects with insurance fraud, grand theft by trick and false imprisonment. Law enforcement arrested 12 of the 15 suspects.

Reyes, Santistevan, Parga, and Gomez are being held on a $700,000 bond each. The others charged in the scheme are:
Ezequiel Baltazar Orozco, 30, of Los Angeles, was charged but not yet in custody.
Antonio Terrazas Perez Jr., 19, of Los Angeles, was booked into the West Valley Detention Center, and bail is set at $150,000.
Erika Garcia, 31, of Los Angeles, was charged but not yet in custody.
Israel Avila Sandoval, 45, of Pomona, was booked into the West Valley Detention Center, and bail is set at $150,000.
Luis Alberto Ramirez Jr., 32, of San Bernardino, was booked into the West Valley Detention Center, and bail is set at $100,000.
Robert Arzac, 49, of West Covina, was booked into the Orange County Jail, and bail is set at $50,000.
Antonio Ramirez Perez, 44, of Los Angeles, was booked into the West Valley Detention Center, and bail is set at $350,000.
Brian Anthony Lopez, 25, of Anaheim
Emily Marie Boatman, 26, of Ontario, was booked into the West Valley Detention Center, and bail is set at $700,000.
Ricardo Parga Jr., 23, of Pomona; booked into the West Valley Detention Center and bail is set at $50,000.
Steven Anthony Alfaro, 38, of Buena Park, was charged but not yet in custody.

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加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺-据加州保险部称，包括加州高速公路巡逻队一名雇员在内的15 名南加州居民被指控参与有组织犯罪团伙，该犯罪团伙共谋从欺诈性汽车保险索赔中获利，金额总计超过 35 万美元。

近日，加州保险部门宣布成功侦破一起涉及重大汽车保险诈骗的案件，犯罪团伙通过非法获取交通事故报告，冒充保险公司员工实施诈骗，非法获利超过35万美元。

据悉，这一犯罪团伙由15人组成，其中包括一名现职的加州公路巡警！

案件始于2022年11月，内陆帝国汽车保险特别工作组接到线报，着手开始调查来自尔湾市的55岁CHP雇员桑蒂斯特万涉嫌贩卖交通事故报告。

随后的搜查行动中，警方顺着线索找到了在波莫纳市26岁的帕尔加，在其家中发现了超过3500份CHP事故报告，也是这些报告，将成为他们诈骗活动的重要道具。

又经深入调查发现，36岁的科罗纳市居民雷耶斯为这起诈骗案的幕后黑手，是他通过向各种活动“捐款”，与桑蒂斯特万及其他CHP员工建立了关系，从而获取了大量的事故报告。

而桑蒂斯特万则利用职务之便，大量打印并出售这些报告给雷耶斯，后者再将这些报告交给帕尔加。帕尔加就以此冒充保险公司职员，联系事故当事人，诱导他们将车辆送往犯罪团伙指定的虚假维修中心进行维修。

此外，调查还发现，该犯罪团伙还涉及更为严重的保险诈欺活动，包括故意碰撞等。据统计，该犯罪集团共实施了19起诈欺性保险索赔，涉案金额高达35万美金！

截至目前，已有12名嫌疑人被捕，其余3人仍在逃。这15名嫌疑人均面临保险诈欺、诡计大盗及冒充他人等多项重罪指控。

加州保险部门表示，他们将继续调查此案，以确保所有涉案人员都受到应有的法律制裁。同时，该部门也提醒广大市民提高警惕，防范类似诈骗行为的发生！

PRESS RELEASE
Chinese National Accused of Defrauding the Elderly
Monday, May 13, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – A man from China has been indicted and accused of taking $95,000 from a 79-year-old Missouri woman who was victimized by scammers.

Dongyi Guo, 27, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on May 8 with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He pleaded not guilty Monday.

The indictment says the conspirators contacted elderly victims via telephone calls and electronic messages and tricked them into turning over cash. Couriers such as Guo were paid to pick up the cash from their victims, the indictment says.

Guo was arrested after scammers contacted a 79-year-old woman in Knox County, Missouri, claiming in multiple conversations to be representatives of financial institutions and the Social Security office, the indictment says. They told her that her accounts had been compromised and she needed to pay cash to prevent her money from being stolen, the indictment says.

Guo collected $40,000 from the victim on March 4, another $35,000 the next day and $20,000 on March 6, the indictment says. He was arrested on March 7 trying to take another $15,000, it says.

The conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.

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参与密苏里诈骗案，连续3天取走近10万，华人”钱骡”拒认罪

一名纽约华男试图从密苏里一名老太那里取走近10万元的诈骗钱款而被捕，他于周一表示不认罪。

据报道，来自纽约法拉盛的27岁中国籍男子郭东毅（Dongyi Guo，音译）于3月份被诺克斯郡警长办公室逮捕，最初被控三项经济剥削老年人的罪名。上周四，他被控一项串谋电信诈骗罪名，郭东毅周一表示不认罪。

根据法庭文件，骗徒最初通过电子邮件与该女子联系，然后开始通过电话与她沟通，冒充联邦存款保险公司的员工。

诺克斯郡警长诺奇（Carl Knoche）3月份介绍案情时说，被告说服受害者，她的身份已经被泄露，她需要从银行将钱取出，寄给他们以安全保存，然后他们会在晚些时候把钱归还。

据悉，骗徒付钱给郭东毅，让他作为“钱骡”前往受害者家中取走诈骗款。

起诉书称，郭东毅在3月4日从受害者处取走了4万元，第二天又收取了3.5万元，3月6日又收取了2万元。受害者的孙子最终向执法部门报警，警方在郭东毅3月7日再次出现时将其被捕，当时他试图再取走1.5万元。

据报道，调查人员在郭东毅的汽车后备箱里发现了大约一半的钱。现金装在一个黑色手提箱里，而手提箱藏在一个沃尔玛的袋子里。

现在仍有一半的被盗钱款不知去向。

法庭文件表明，郭东毅有广泛的犯罪记录，包括身份盗窃和其他涉及欺诈的犯罪。

他目前被关押在刘易斯郡监狱，不得保释。串谋指控最高可判处20年监禁、25万元罚款，或监禁加罚款。

Feds: Employee of Ohio-based bank stole $2.1 million by setting up fake online banking accounts

A federal grand jury Wednesday charged an Illinois man with 17 crimes affecting customers of an unnamed Cleveland-based bank to the tune of $2.1 million in unauthorized online funds transfers.

Yue Cao, 34, of Winfield, Illinois, was charged with bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property in connection with a scheme to steal funds from identity theft victims’ accounts at the bank where he worked, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a news release.

According to the indictment, between May 2022 and April 2023, Cao allegedly defrauded the bank where he worked and its customers by transferring funds from those customers’ accounts to ones that Cao controlled. That included accounts he established in the customers’ names, all without their knowledge or authorization, according to federal prosecutors.

Authorities said Cao diverted the money for his personal use in a case that was investigated by the FBI.

Cao was a quantitative modeling analyst at the bank and used that position to find customers who had not yet enrolled in online banking services, primarily targeting elderly customers as identity theft victims. Without their knowledge, he created email addresses in their names and enrolled their accounts in online banking, federal prosecutors said.

Bank statements and other notices about the accounts were sent to the email addresses Cao controlled, and he used the victims’ personal identifying information to open unauthorized bank accounts and brokerage accounts in their names, authorities said.

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周三，联邦大陪审团指控一名伊利诺伊州男子犯有 17 项罪行，影响了一家未透露姓名的克利夫兰银行的客户，涉及未经授权的在线资金转账金额达 210 万美元。

曹岳，34 岁，来自伊利诺伊州温菲尔德，被指控犯有银行欺诈、严重身份盗窃和从事犯罪所得财产的货币交易等罪名，该案与从他工作的银行的身份盗窃受害者账户中窃取资金的计划有关。美国俄亥俄州北区检察官办公室在一份新闻稿中表示。

根据起诉书，2022年5月至2023年4月期间，曹涉嫌将资金从客户账户转移至曹控制的账户，从而诈骗其工作的银行及其客户。据联邦检察官称，这包括他在客户不知情或未经授权的情况下以客户名义建立的账户。

当局表示，曹在联邦调查局调查的一起案件中将这笔钱挪作他用。

曹是该银行的定量建模分析师，利用该职位寻找尚未注册网上银行服务的客户，主要针对身份盗窃受害者的老年客户。联邦检察官称，他在他们不知情的情况下，以他们的名义创建了电子邮件地址，并将他们的账户注册到了网上银行。

当局称，有关账户的银行对账单和其他通知已发送至曹控制的电子邮件地址，曹利用受害者的个人身份信息以受害者的名义开立未经授权的银行账户和经纪账户。

Chinese scammer gets prison, deportation for trying to scam Lorain County man out of $26,000

A Chinese national will be deported back to his home country after serving 16 months in federal prison for trying last year to scam a Huntington Township man out of $26,000.

Tsz Chun Xie, 21, who had been living in Ontario, California, on a student visa before his arrest and is originally from Hong Kong, was sentenced to prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher Boyko on Friday.

Boyko ordered Xie to pay $188,000 restitution to victims of a series of scams he ran in the United States. Xie will serve his time at a federal prison close to Los Angeles, according to court records.

Once Xie completes his prison term, with credit for time served, he will be on probation for one year. He then must surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation, Boyko ordered.

Xie was arrested Aug. 23 by Lorain County sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents after they intercepted a scam he and unnamed conspirators were running throughout the United States.

The scammers would call an intended victim, pretend to be federal agents investigating a crime, or infiltrate their computer by hacking and claim to be representatives of a software company such as Microsoft.

In the Lorain County case, a woman alertly stopped her 69-year-old father-in-law from packaging up $26,000 in a cardboard box and Christmas wrapping paper after he told her “an IRS agent” told him to hand the money over to “a deputy U.S. Marshal” who would be showing up at his house the following day.

The intended victim was told this would protect his money from fraud, when he was actually the target of the scam, according to the sheriff’s office and federal authorities. His daughter-in-law called police.

The first person to contact the victim did so by messaging him on his computer, pretending to be from Microsoft and telling him to call a phone number.

When he did, a man with a foreign accent was on the other end of the line and gave him his instructions while also telling the victim not to tell anyone why he was withdrawing money from the bank.

This is an increasingly common scam particularly targeting elderly Americans, according to the FBI and federal prosecutors, and not something legitimate federal agents will ever do.

Sheriff’s deputies set up a sting operation and arrested Xie when he arrived at the man’s home the next day to collect the money.

Xie told investigators he had done the scam six or seven times before in different states, and was set to fly back to California that same day to deliver the money.

His parents were sending him less money than they had in the past from China, so he was overspending and trying to find ways to make more, Xie told authorities. He told them he had expected to get caught eventually.

Another victim in Washington state told the FBI she was threatened with arrest unless she paid, and gave the scammers $119,000 over four months in 2023, according to court records.

FBI agents were using data from Xie’s rideshare app history to track down other potential victims, according to court records.

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中國男子因詐騙被判入獄 將被驅逐出境

一名中國公民因去年企圖詐騙杭廷頓市一名男子2.6萬美元而被判入獄16個月，之後將被驅逐出境。

21歲的謝子春（音譯，Tsz Chun Xie）來自香港，被捕前持學生簽證居住在南加州安大略市。上週五（5月10日），他被美國地區法官克里斯托弗·博伊科（Christopher Boyko）判處監禁。

博伊科下令謝子春向他在美國實施的一系列詐騙案的受害者賠償18.8萬美元。根據法庭記錄，謝子春將在洛杉磯附近的聯邦監獄服刑。其刑滿（包括減刑）後，將被緩刑一年，然後他必須向美國移民和海關執法局自首，並被驅逐出境。

去年8月23日，謝子春被洛雷恩縣（Lorain County）警員和FBI特工逮捕，此前他們預知了謝與未透露姓名的同謀者曾在美國多地實施的騙局：假冒調查犯罪的聯邦特工，打電話給目標受害者；或自稱是微軟等軟件公司的代表，以侵入受害者的電腦。

在洛雷恩縣的案件中，一名婦女警覺地阻止了她69歲的公公將2.6萬美元裝在紙板箱和聖誕包裝紙中，老人告訴她「國稅局特工」讓他把錢交給「美國法警局警員」，該警員預定第二天就會上門。

據洛雷恩縣警長辦公室和FBI，目標受害者被告知這將保護他的錢免受欺詐，但實際上他正是詐騙目標。他的兒媳報了警。

第一個人先通過電腦給老人發訊息，假稱自己來自微軟，並讓他撥打一個電話號碼。老人照做後，在電話另一端，一名外國口音的男子向他發出指示，同時告訴老人不要告訴任何人他從銀行取款的原因。

洛雷恩縣警員採取誘捕行動，在第二天謝子春到老人家中收錢時將其逮捕。

據FBI和聯邦檢察官，類似的騙局越來越常見，特別是針對美國老年人。而真正的聯邦特工是不會這麼做的。

謝子春告訴調查人員，他先前在不同州實施了六七次詐騙，並計劃當天飛回加州將錢匯出。謝還告訴當局，他的父母給他寄來的錢比過去從中國寄來的錢少了，所以他超支了，就想找出賺更多錢的辦法。他告訴警員，他料到自己最終會被抓。

法庭記錄顯示，華盛頓州另一名受害者告訴聯邦調查局，她受到威脅，說如果不付款就會被逮捕。因此，在2023年的四個月內，她給了詐騙者11.9萬美元。

另外，FBI特工正在查看謝子春的乘車記錄，以追蹤其他可能的受害者。

Video shows accused international jewelry thief swiping $17,000 watch from Long Island store, police say
May 7, 2024

MANHASSET, N.Y. — An accused international jewelry thief was arrested in New York City after he was allegedly caught on video pocketing a $17,000 watch inside a Long Island store.

Map shows stores targeted by alleged international jewelry thief

Yaorong Wan, 49, is an alleged globetrotting jewelry thief wanted by Interpol. He’s accused of stealing more than half a million dollars worth of jewelry from stores such as Tiffany and Cartier in Seoul, South Korea and various cities in the United States.

Police say he’s stolen from stores in Beverly Hills and Miami, and in the Tri-State Area, he’s allegedly hit stores in Manhattan and Short Hills, New Jersey.

Most recently, he allegedly targeted a mall on Long Island.

Accused international jewelry thief arrested in NYC
Wan is accused of stealing a Chopard watch worth more than $17,000 from London Jewelers at the Americana Manhasset.

Detectives say it took many looks at the surveillance video to see just how the suspect pocketed the watch.

“You see on the video, using the distraction technique, he uses sleight of hand, and he cups — almost like a magician or a card shark would utilize — to cup and conceal the watch,” Nassau Police Chief of Detectives Christopher Ferro said.

Wan was arrested by Nassau detectives, the NYPD and U.S. Marshals at his Flushing, Queens residence.

Police say the stolen Chopard watch was allegedly recovered inside his home, along with multiple other pieces of stolen diamond and gold jewelry.

Wan pleaded not guilty.

“This is not a bail eligible offense. I could not ask for bail on him. Only because he has a warrant in other jurisdictions was I able to hold him on a fugitive from justice warrant,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Wan remains behind bars. He is due back in court May 17.

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Accused international jewel thief arraigned on Long Island
May 7, 2024

Alleged international jewel thief arraigned on LI
A suspected jewel thief accused of targeting stores all across the globe faced a judge on Long Island Tuesday morning.

LONG ISLAND – Alleged international jewelry thief Yaorong Wan is sneaky and sophisticated, according to investigators.

While he may have stumped some last month after allegedly pocketing a watch worth more than $17,000 from London Jewelers in Manhasset, Nassau County detectives say they have outsmarted him.

“He uses a distraction technique to distract the sales personnel to look in another direction. As he’s doing that, he uses a sleight of hand, almost like a magician utilizes to cup and conceal a watch,” said Chief of Detective Christopher Ferro with the Nassau County Police Department.

Wan pleaded not guilty to grand larceny after the alleged London Jewelers watch heist, but the same “sleight of hand” trick worked at Tiffany’s and Cartier in Manhattan. The 49-year-old allegedly swiped a diamond worth $250k and switched it with an imitation.

“He’s wanted in California, Miami, New Jersey, New York City, South Korea and he came into Nassau,” said Nassau district attorney Anne Donnelly.

Wan is also wanted by Interpol in connection to a $332,000 theft in Korea back in 2018. Investigators say he has used the name Wen San to evade police, and he entered the U.S. illegally as an asylum seeker in December.

Nassau detectives, the NYPD, and U.S. Marshalls arrested Wan in Flushing this past Friday. They recovered the watch and other proceeds from prior thefts.

Wan is currently being held without bail.

Investigators are sharing his mugshot and surveillance video of Wan, asking for the public’s help to see if anyone, anywhere else has come in contact with him.

FOX 5 NY reached out to Wan’s legal aid attorney. No one has returned our call for comment.

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Globetrotting jewelry thief caught after swiping nearly $300K from NYC Cartier, Tiffany shops
May 6, 2024

A globetrotting jewelry thief suspected of ripping off swanky stores in Beverly Hills, Miami and South Korea is now behind bars following heists at Cartier and Tiffany in New York City, The Post has learned.

Yaorong Wan, 49, was busted in Manhattan last week after he allegedly jacked diamond rings — which had a combined value of nearly $300,000 — from the world-renowned jewelry stores, prosecutors said.

His sticky-fingered crime spree included the theft of an $18,000 watch from a London Jewelers in Manhasset on Long Island last month, according to the criminal complaints.

Authorities are also eyeing Wan — who has a red notice out on him from Interpol — for similar heists at a Tiffany’s in South Korea, an Hermes store in New Jersey and Cartier stores in Beverly Hills, Calif. and Miami, Fla., law-enforcement sources and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.

The NYPD’s Major Case Squad tracked Wan to a Queens apartment building on 40th Road on Friday, where they arrested him and slapped him with two counts of grand larceny for the Manhattan thefts, police sources said.

The arrest appears to have ended Wan’s years-long criminal caper, which took him halfway around the world and left his pockets heavy with stolen rings and watches, police sources said.

His wild jaunt appears to have started in September 2018, when he hit a Tiffany’s in the South Korean capital of Seoul and made off with a $330,000 diamond ring, sources said.

He took a few years off, then came to the US last December and quickly began fleecing stores throughout the country, according to the sources.

In January, he allegedly strolled into a Cartier store in Beverly Hills and left with a $48,000 diamond ring and a watch worth $10,000 that he conveniently forgot to pay for, sources said.

Then he came to the Big Apple, where he allegedly hit the Tiffany & Co on Fifth Avenue in Rockefeller Center on March 4 and the Cartier store at 20 Hudson Yards on March 12, according to the complaints.

At Tiffany’s, Wan waltzed in at about 3 p.m. that day and asked the woman behind the counter about several pieces of jewelry, the court documents allege.

He eventually settled on a diamond ring, which was valued at a whopping $255,000.

Wan allegedly held the ring, looked it over, handed it back and left the store, the complaint said.

But the ring he returned wasn’t the same one the employee handed him — even though she thought it was.

About a week later, the store was doing a routine inventory when workers found out the allegedly genuine ring was, in fact, a counterfeit cubic zirconia stone mounted on 18-carat white gold, the complaint said.

That was a far cry from the pricey original, which was a natural diamond mounted on platinum that was engraved, hallmarked and had a unique code attached to it, according to the complaint.

When investigators watched surveillance footage from that day, they saw the defendant examine the ring — then allegedly slip it into his palm in a bit of sleight-of-hand trickery and offload the cheaper fake.

Store workers had photographed the ring on March 5, and none of the engravings or hallmarkings were present, the complaint said.

On March 12, he allegedly engineered a similar magic trick on an employee of the Cartier store in Hudson Yards.

That day, Wan walked in at about 1:30 p.m. and asked to look at two engagement rings and two watches, investigators said.

The employee handed him the diamond rings, then got distracted, according to the complaint.

That’s when Wan allegedly handed back one of the rings, but slipped the other — valued at about $25,000 — into his pocket before taking off.

The caught-on-camera heist was his second big score in just eight days.

Sources said he then went to Miami, where he allegedly lifted a $16,000 watch from a Cartier store on March 24.

Then he came back to the metropolitan area, where he pilfered the glitzy watch from Manhasset on April 19 and two watches — worth a combined $17,000 — from the Hermes store inside the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford on April 26, sources said.

In the Long Island case, investigators say Wan was perusing watches at the London Jewelers on Northern Boulevard when he slid a Chopard watch into his left jacket pocket, the complaint said.

Then he strolled past the registers and out the door, according to the complaint.

When he was arrested, Wan allegedly had three watches that he stole from Manhasset and New Jersey, as well as the fake stones he used to swap with the legitimate pieces, sources said.

He pleaded not guilty at his Saturday arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, and a judge cut him loose on supervised release, according to the complaint and police sources.

But afterward, authorities sent him over to Nassau County, where he was locked up on $500,000 cash bail for the watch theft and an outstanding warrant out of East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Wan pleaded not guilty to a charge of third-degree grand larceny in Nassau District Court on Sunday morning, according to online court records. His next appearance is slated for Tuesday morning.

He’s also scheduled to be back in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 14, according to court records.

Neither the Miami Police Department nor the East Rutherford police responded to requests for comment Monday.

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國際大盜紐約落網 女友：萬耀榮說珠寶是「回收來的」

華裔國際珠寶大盜萬耀榮(Yaorong Wan，音譯)在韓、美兩國多地犯案並最終在紐約落網後，他的女友在受訪時透露，萬耀榮平日擅長使用甜蜜攻勢，並經常送她珠寶，令她芳心大動，卻未曾料到對方是個國際大盜，欺騙了她的感情和家庭。

萬耀榮的女友約40歲、說中文，她近日匿名接受了「每日新聞」(Daily News)採訪，講述這名大盜鮮為人知的一面。據介紹，她於今年1月在洛杉磯旅行時偶然結識了使用「萬三」(Wan San)假名的萬耀榮，他們當時互加了微信，萬耀榮此後便開始對她施展浪漫攻勢。

➤➤➤偷天換日竊名牌 華裔跨國珠寶大盜 長島落網

這名女子在受訪時強調，49歲的萬耀榮看起來人很好，對她也非常好，而作為一名女性，她認為這便是最能打動她的一點。「他真的很關心我。我覺得他很有魅力。」

根據女友的描述，萬耀榮在獲取了對方的芳心後，便再進一步，稱他剛到美國，沒有穩定的住處，希望能前往紐約、與女友同住。她說，當萬耀榮博取了她的好感後，她今年3月允許他搬入自己在紐約皇后區的居所。

兩人同居 萬從未付過房租

她表示，萬耀榮從未付過房租，但經常會帶些珠寶回家。如遇追問，他便答稱是「回收來的舊貨」。他還把一塊手表和一枚鑽戒送給她作禮物。不過，這名女子表示，在萬耀榮被捕後，她一氣之下便把這些東西都扔掉了，目前尚不清楚萬耀榮在曼哈頓蒂芙尼(Tiffany)珠寶店盜竊的價值25萬5000元的天價鑽戒是否也被其女友一同扔掉。

對於萬耀榮的身分背景，他的女友受訪時表示，他稱自己是中國人，但警方則認為其為南韓人。萬耀榮2018年9月涉嫌在南韓盜取價值超過33萬元的珠寶而遭國際刑警以「紅色通緝令」通緝；在去年年底進入美國後，他又因盜竊珠寶而遭到加州、佛州、新澤西州和紐約州等多州通緝。

落網時 她帶著他送的戒指

萬耀榮的女友表示，警方3日早上6時前往她的住處逮捕萬耀榮時她在場，當時她還戴著他送給她的戒指。警方搜查時，從她的家中抄走了很多可疑物品，但其中有不少都是她的私人物品，價值多達4萬元。其中包括一塊她自己花錢購買的名表，她有收據為證。

她說，她已把萬耀榮的所有私人物品和他贈送的禮物全部扔掉，因為這個人給她帶來了太多的痛苦和精神創傷。

報導引述檢察官表示，萬耀榮已於4日在紐約曼哈頓刑事法院過堂。他將在長島納蘇郡受審，法官設定保釋金為50萬元現金或100萬元擔保金。他目前被關押在納蘇郡看守所，在新澤西州柏根郡也面臨盜竊珠的指控。

檢察官說，萬耀榮據信在紐約州共作案三次，兩次在曼哈頓，一次在長島曼哈塞。其中一次偷走一枚價值25萬5000元的鑽戒。

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一名周游世界的珠宝窃贼因涉嫌盗窃比佛利山庄、迈阿密和韩国的豪华商店而在纽约市的卡地亚和蒂芙尼发生抢劫案后现已入狱。据称他在长岛一家商店内将价值 17,000 美元的手表装进口袋的视频被拍到。

检察官称，49 岁的万耀荣 (Yaorong Wan) 上周在曼哈顿被捕，原因是他涉嫌从世界知名珠宝店盗窃总价值近 30 万美元的钻戒。

49 岁的万耀荣 (Yaorong Wan) 是一名涉嫌周游世界的珠宝窃贼，被国际刑警组织通缉。他被指控从韩国首尔和美国多个城市的蒂芙尼和卡地亚等商店盗窃了价值超过 50 万美元的珠宝。

侦探们表示，他们看了很多次监控录像才明白嫌疑人是如何将手表装进口袋的。

拿骚警察局侦探局长克里斯托弗·费罗 (Christopher Ferro) 表示：“你在视频中看到，他利用分散注意力的技巧，使用了一些花招，然后用杯状的方式——几乎就像魔术师或牌骗子会使用的那样——杯状并隐藏了手表。”

警方消息人士称，这次逮捕似乎结束了万多年来的犯罪活动，他绕了半个地球，口袋里装满了被盗的戒指和手表。

万不认罪。

拿骚地区检察官安妮·唐纳利 (Anne Donnelly) 表示：“这不是符合保释条件的犯罪行为。”

万仍被关押在监狱中。他将于 5 月 17 日再次出庭。

PRESS RELEASE
Tampa Man Guilty Of Wire Fraud, Money Laundering In Misuse Of $500,000 COVID-19 Small Business Loan
Friday, May 3, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Barrett Purvis (54, Tampa) guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. Purvis faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud offense and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the money laundering offense. Sentencing is scheduled for August 12, 2024. Purvis was indicted on March 30, 2023.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Purvis applied for and received a $500,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021. Although he applied on behalf of a legitimate small business he owned and operated, Purvis never intended to use any of the loan proceeds on working capital as required by the terms of the loan agreement. Instead, Purvis spent approximately half of the proceeds on gambling debt and the rest on other personal debt, including debt incurred on his girlfriend’s three credit cards. Within two weeks of receiving the loan, Purvis had used nearly all the proceeds on personal expenses, unrelated to any legitimate business.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Candace Garcia Rich.

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.

PRESS RELEASE
Early Bitcoin Investor Charged with Tax Fraud
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

Man Known as “Bitcoin Jesus” Evaded Nearly $50M in Taxes

An indictment was unsealed yesterday charging Roger Ver, an early investor in bitcoins, with mail fraud, tax evasion and filing false tax returns. Ver was arrested this weekend in Spain based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Ver’s extradition to stand trial in the United States.

According to the indictment, Ver formerly of Santa Clara, California, owned MemoryDealers.com Inc. and Agilestar.com Inc., two companies that sold computer and networking equipment. Starting in 2011, Ver allegedly began acquiring bitcoins for himself and his companies. He also allegedly avidly promoted bitcoins, even obtaining the moniker “Bitcoin Jesus.”

On Feb. 4, 2014, Ver allegedly obtained citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis and shortly thereafter renounced his U.S. citizenship in a process known as expatriation. As a result of his expatriation, Ver allegedly was required under U.S. law to file tax returns that reported capital gains from the constructive sale of his world-wide assets, including the bitcoins, and to report the fair market value of his assets. He was also allegedly required to pay a tax – referred to as an “exit tax” – on those capital gains. By Feb. 4, 2014, Ver and his companies allegedly owned approximately 131,000 bitcoins that traded on several large exchanges for around $871 each. MemoryDealers and Agilestar allegedly held approximately 73,000 of those bitcoins.

Ver allegedly hired a law firm to assist him with his expatriation and to prepare his expatriation-related tax returns. Ver also allegedly hired an appraiser to value his two companies. Ver allegedly provided or caused to be provided false or misleading information to the law firm and appraiser that concealed the true number of bitcoins he and his companies owned. As a result, the law firm allegedly prepared and filed false tax returns that substantially undervalued the two companies and their 73,000 bitcoins and did not report that Ver owned any bitcoins personally.

The indictment further alleges that by June 2017, Ver’s two companies continued to own approximately 70,000 bitcoins. Around that time, Ver allegedly took possession of those bitcoins and in November 2017 sold tens of thousands of them on cryptocurrency exchanges for approximately $240 million in cash. Even though Ver was not then a U.S. citizen, he was still legally required to report to the IRS and pay tax on certain distributions such as dividends from MemoryDealers and Agilestar, which were U.S. corporations. Ver allegedly concealed from his accountant that he had received and sold MemoryDealers’ and Agilestar’s bitcoins that year. As a result, Ver’s 2017 individual income tax return did not report any gain or pay any tax related to the distribution of MemoryDealers’ and Agilestar’s bitcoins to him.

In total, Ver is alleged to have caused a loss to the IRS of at least $48 million.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation’s cybercrimes unit is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge and Trial Attorney Peter J. Anthony of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney James. C. Hughes for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

Roger Ver 起诉书

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DOJ charges ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ with $48 million tax fraud, seeks extradition

KEY POINTS
DOJ announced criminal tax fraud charges against a prolific bitcoin investor named Roger Ver, who came to be known as “Bitcoin Jesus” for getting in early on the digital currency and making a fortune.
DOJ alleged in charges un that Ver evaded at least $48 million in taxes.
Ver was arrested in Spain over the weekend and is being extradited to the United States to face criminal trial.

The Justice Department unveiled criminal tax fraud charges this week against a prolific bitcoin investor named Roger Ver. He came to be known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” for getting in early on the digital currency and making a fortune.

Ver allegedly evaded at least $48 million in taxes, according to the indictment announced Tuesday.

The indictment, filed in California federal court, claims that Ver executed the fraud scheme by failing to report a portion of the 131,000 bitcoin that he owned in 2014, when he renounced his U.S. citizenship after becoming a citizen of the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

At the time, each bitcoin was worth roughly $871. It was trading Wednesday morning at $57,416, which would make Ver’s 131,000 bitcoins worth more than $7.5 billion.

Becoming a U.S. expat requires an individual to pay a special tax to the Internal Revenue Service. The DOJ alleges that in preparing those tax filings, Ver underrepresented his bitcoin holdings and evaded taxes on them.

The indictment further alleges that even after his expatriation from the U.S., Ver continued to underreport his bitcoin ownership, which he was still required to pay U.S. taxes on.

Ver was arrested in Spain over the weekend. The United States is seeking his extradition to face trial on eight counts related to tax evasion, mail fraud and filing false tax returns.

“At this time, I can say that we are very disappointed and surprised that Mr. Ver was arrested while traveling in Spain. This prosecution never should have been brought,” Bryan Skarlatos, a lawyer for Ver, told CNBC in a statement. “Mr. Ver relied on leading tax professionals to help him report his Bitcoin and he always intended to fully comply with his US tax obligations. We look forward to establishing his innocence in court, if necessary.”

If convicted, Ver’s felony charges could see him return to federal prison, where he spent 10 months in 2002 after pleading guilty to selling explosives called “Pest Control Report 2000” on eBay.

As bitcoin has boomed and busted over the past decade, the government has begun to pay more attention to possible financial crimes associated with the digital currency. The IRS has worked to get more sophisticated in tracking bitcoin investors as the currency has gone more mainstream.

According to the indictment, the IRS used a strategy called “clustering analysis” to track the blockchain and identify Ver’s bitcoin transactions.

Ver made his first million from bitcoin in 2011, the same year he started trading the digital currency, according to a 2013 CNBC profile.

As he poured investments into bitcoin and promoted the digital currency, some within the community came to know him as a Christ-like figure.

He told CNBC in 2013 that Peter Vessenes, founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, gave him the nickname “Bitcoin Jesus” while watching him explain the digital currency to some high school students.

“The kids were all enthralled by bitcoin, and hanging on my every word,” Ver told CNBC.

According to Ver, Vessenes then commented, “It’s like you are a Bitcoin Jesus, and you have all your disciples around you.”

PRESS RELEASE
Cincinnati man allegedly scammed dozens of victims out of more than $2 million as part of online romance fraud conspiracy
Tuesday, April 30, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio

Defendant also charged with COVID-relief fraud

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury has indicted Richard Opoku Agyemang, 40, of Cincinnati, in connection with a romance-fraud conspiracy allegedly involving more than $2 million in loss to dozens of victims.

The indictment alleges that Agyemang conspired with others to use stolen photographs and false information to create profiles on dating websites. The coconspirators allegedly used these false profiles to reach out to victims and establish an online romantic relationship. The indictment alleges that, eventually, the coconspirators, pretending to be the person pictured in the false profile, would ask the victims to send money, falsely representing that the money was needed for things like medical expenses or to help bring a large inheritance of gold to the United States.

The victims either wired money or deposited checks to accounts allegedly controlled by Agyemang or other members of the conspiracy. Members of the conspiracy would allegedly launder the proceeds of the scheme by making wire and electronic transfers, including to domestic accounts and to accounts in China. According to an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint, more than $2 million, transferred from dozens of victims, passed through Agyemang’s accounts.

The 11-count indictment charges Agyemang with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of money laundering, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions with proceeds of criminal activity. Wire fraud and money laundering are punishable by up to 20 years in prison; engaging in monetary transactions with proceeds of criminal activity is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The indictment also alleges that Agyemang made false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) in a Payment Protection Program (PPP) loan application in April 2021, which resulted in the SBA awarding him more than $20,000 in COVID relief to which he was not entitled. That crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division, announced the indictment. Assistant United States Attorney Julie D. Garcia is representing the United States in this case.

Agyemang appeared in federal court today at 1:30pm before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Litkovitz and was arraigned on the charges.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Elder Fraud, in Focus
Elder fraud reports to FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center rose by 14% in 2023
April 30, 2024

Elder fraud complaints to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (or IC3) increased by 14% in 2023, and associated losses increased by about 11%, according to IC3’s 2023 Elder Fraud Report, released April 30.

This annual publication provides statistics about incidents of elder fraud—or fraud that explicitly targets older Americans’ money or cryptocurrency—that are reported to IC3. The report aims to raise the public’s awareness of this issue and to prevent future and repeat incidents.

“Combatting the financial exploitation of those over 60 years of age continues to be a priority of the FBI,” wrote FBI Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall, who leads the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division, in the report. “Along with our partners, we continually work to aid victims and to identify and investigate the individuals and criminal organizations that perpetrate these schemes and target the elderly.”

And elder fraud is probably a more insidious threat than the report shows. Many of these crimes likely go unreported, and, as the report states, “only about half” of the fraud scam complaints submitted to IC3 in 2023 included victims’ ages.

Here are five key takeaways from the 2023 report:

1.Elder fraud is an expensive crime. Scams targeting individuals aged 60 and older caused over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023—an increase of approximately 11% from the year prior. The average victim of elder fraud lost $33,915 due to these crimes in 2023.

2.Older Americans seem to be disproportionately impacted by scams and fraud. Over 101,000 victims aged 60 and over reported this kind of crime to IC3 in 2023. On the flip side, victims under the age of 20 years old seemed to be the least-impacted demographic, with about 18,000 victims in this demographic reporting suspected scams or frauds to IC3 last year.

3.Tech support scams were the most widely reported kind of elder fraud in 2023. Nearly 18,000 victims aged 60 and over reported such scams to IC3. Personal data breaches, confidence and romance scams, non-payment or non-delivery scams, and investment scams rounded out the top five most common types of elder fraud reported to IC3 last year.

4.Investment scams were the costliest kind of elder fraud in 2023. These schemes cost victims more than $1.2 billion in losses last year. And tech support scams, business email compromise scams, confidence and romance scams, government impersonation scams, and personal data breaches all respectively cost victims hundreds of millions of dollars in 2023.

5.Scammers are coming for people’s cryptocurrency. More than 12,000 victims aged 60 and over indicated that cryptocurrency was “a medium or tool used to facilitate” the scam or fraud that targeted them when reporting it to IC3.

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Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, an FBI report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scammers stole more than $3.4 billion from older Americans last year, according to an FBI report released Tuesday that shows a rise in losses through increasingly sophisticated criminal tactics to trick the vulnerable into giving up their life savings.

Losses from scams reported by Americans over the age of 60 last year were up 11% over the year before, according to the FBI’s report. Investigators are warning of a rise in brazen schemes to drain bank accounts that involve sending couriers in person to collect cash or gold from victims.

“It can be a devastating impact to older Americans who lack the ability to go out and make money,” said Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “People lose all their money. Some people become destitute.”

The FBI received more than 100,000 complaints by victims of scams over the age of 60 last year, with nearly 6,000 people losing more than $100,000. It follows a sharp rise in reported losses by older Americans in the two years after the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, when people were stuck at home and easier for scammers to reach over the phone.

Barnacle said investigators are seeing organized, transnational criminal enterprises targeting older Americans through a variety of schemes, like romance scams and investment frauds.

Federal investigators saw an uptick between May and December of scammers using live couriers to take money from victims duped into believing their accounts had been compromised, according to the FBI. In those cases, scammers tell victims that their bank accounts have been hacked and that they need to liquidate their assets into cash or buy gold or other precious metals to protect their funds. Then the fraudsters arrange for a courier to pick it up in person.

“A lot of the the fraud schemes are asking victims to send money via a wire transfer, or a cryptocurrency transfer. When the victim is reluctant to do that, they’re given an alternative,” Barnacle said. “And so the bad guy will use courier services.”

Earlier this month, an 81-year-old Ohio man fatally shot an Uber driver he thought was trying to rob him after receiving scam phone calls, according to authorities.

The man had been receiving calls from someone pretending to be an officer from the local court who demanded money. The Uber driver had been told to retrieve a package from the man’s home, a request authorities say was possibly made by the same scam caller or an accomplice.

The staggering losses to older Americans are likely an undercount. Only about half of the more than 880,000 complaints reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center last year included information on the age of the victim.

PRESS RELEASE
West Covina Man Arrested for Allegedly Attempting to Pick Up Money from Elderly Victims Who Were Defrauded in Phishing Scheme
Monday, April 29, 2024

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California

LOS ANGELES – A San Gabriel Valley man is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon on federal charges stemming from his alleged attempt to obtain additional funds from two elderly victims who had already paid thousands as part of an online phishing scheme that locked up their home computer.

Tai Su, 48, of West Covina, is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Su was arrested Friday in a sting orchestrated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and federal prosecutors Sunday filed a criminal complaint that alleges one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Su was arrested at the victims’ Encino residence when he showed up to retrieve $35,000 from the two elderly victims who had already paid the fraudsters $25,000 in cash. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Su is part of a scheme that included a computer virus, callers pretending to help the victims, and two other people who masqueraded as federal agents.

The cyberattack began on April 23 when the victims opened an email and clicked on a link launching malware that seized their computer and displayed a phone number that was purportedly “Microsoft Support.” The victims called the number and spoke to a person who advised they had been “hacked,” and the hackers now had their bank account information at City National Bank.

The victims were then connected to another person pretending to be a “Fraud and Risk Investigator” with City National Bank, who instructed the victims to withdraw $25,000 in cash and give the money to purported “federal agents” who would come to the victims’ house. The victims withdrew the cash and, later on April 23, two men pretending to be federal agents – one of whom displayed a fake badge – came to the victims’ residence and collected the money.

Over the next two days, the scammers continued to seek additional funds from the victims, even directing them to make a $10,000 withdrawal at a particular City National Bank branch.

HSI agents on April 25 learned about the ongoing scam and planned a sting operation.

On April 26, during a series of phone calls with participants in the scheme, the victims agreed to make another $35,000 cash payment. After rebuffing demands to deposit the funds into a virtual wallet at a remote location, the victims arranged for another pick-up by a “federal officer” at their residence.

At the agreed-upon time, Su drove to the victims’ home. He identified himself to an 86-year-old victim, gave a passcode, and then said he was from Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency platform. HSI agents then arrested Su, who was found to be carrying thousands of dollars in cash in large denominations, according to the affidavit.

A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations-led El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force that includes federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kedar S. Bhatia and Joseph De Leon of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Vulnerable Communities Task Force, which is focused on investigating and prosecuting individuals and entities that prey on communities that typically are less likely to report crimes to law enforcement and historically have had less legal recourse to address the offenders targeting them. These groups may include immigrants and migrant workers defrauded in immigration schemes, indigent individuals reliant on public benefits, the elderly, and those who have been reluctant to seek assistance from government authorities.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

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Southern California man arrested for defrauding elderly victims

A West Covina man made his first appearance in federal court Monday after he allegedly defrauded an elderly couple from Encino.

The U.S. Department of Justice says 48-year-old Tai Su used a cyberattack to scam the victims out of $25,000 before his arrest.

On April 23, the victims opened an email and clicked on a link launching malware that seized their computer and displayed a phone number that was purportedly Microsoft support.

The elderly couple called the number and spoke with a person who told them that they had been hacked and that the suspects had their banking information for their accounts with City National Bank.

According to the DOJ, the victims were told they were being transferred to a fraud and risk investigator with City National Bank, who told the elderly couple to withdraw $25,000 in cash and hand it over to federal agents who would meet them at their home.

Later in the day on April 23, two men pretending to be federal agents came to the victim’s home with a fake badge and collected the money.

The DOJ alleges that Su and his co-conspirators continued to contact the elderly couple over the following two days, and instructed them to take out another $10,000 from a specific City National Bank.

Federal authorities became aware of the scam on April 25 and planned a sting operation.

Homeland Security Investigators met with the victims on April 26 and instructed the elderly couple on what to say during a series of phone calls with the scammers, and they agreed to pay the suspects another $35,000.

Su and his team allegedly tried to persuade the victims to deposit the funds into a virtual wallet at a remote location. The victims instead agreed to have another “federal officer” pick up the funds from their home.

When Su arrived, he identified himself to the victims and proclaimed to be an employee of Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency platform.

Federal investigators arrested Su, who was carrying thousands of dollars in large denominations, according to court records.

Su is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and if convicted, faces a maximum of 20 years in a federal prison.

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南加华男假扮FBI上门取钱 连环诈骗长者大笔现金

网络诈骗猖獗，南加一名华裔男子参与犯罪团伙，通过黑客方式侵入被害人电脑，之后假扮成联邦特工骗取钱财。华男目前被指控串谋实施电信诈骗，如果罪名成立，将面临最高20年监禁。

根据美国司法部的消息，48岁的苏泰（Tai Su，音译）利用网络攻击，骗取受害者2.5万元，4月29日（周一）首次在联邦法院出庭。从姓氏看，嫌犯苏泰应是华裔，据称他是洛杉矶县西柯汶那市（West Covina）居民，利用网络诈骗居住在恩西诺（Encino）的老年夫妇。

KTLA5电视台报道，4月23日，受害者打开一封电子邮件，点击其中一个链接，不慎启动恶意软件，导致黑客入侵计算机。当时电脑界面弹出据称是微软公司的电话号码，可以提供技术支持。这对老夫妇随即拨打电话，对方告知，他们的电脑已遭黑客攻击，嫌疑人已窃取他们在City National Bank的银行帐户资讯，并表示将把电话转接到银行欺诈风险调查部门。

此后骗局环环相扣，所谓的银行调查员告诉被害人，需立即提取帐户中的2.5万元现金，并把钱交给上门服务的联邦特工。23日晚些时候，两名冒充联邦特工的男子，带着假警徽来到受害者家，取走2.5万元现金。

司法部称，在接下来的两天，嫌疑人苏泰与同伙继续联系这对老年夫妇，并指示他们从特定的City National Bank再取出1万元。受害者察觉不对报案，当局计划采取诱捕行动，国土安全部（Homeland Security）调查人员26日会见受害者，并指导这对老年夫妇与诈骗者通话，同意向嫌疑人另外再支付3.5万元。

据称，苏泰和同伙试图说服受害者，将资金存入网络上的虚拟钱包，但受害者希望他们再次到家中领走现金。当苏泰到达被害人家中时，他自称是加密货币平台Coinbase的员工。法庭记录显示，调查人员逮捕苏泰后，发现他身上还携带大量现金。嫌犯苏泰日前出庭，他被指控串谋实施电信诈骗，如果罪名成立，将面临最高20年的监禁。