Multiple Chinese nationals have been indicted for their role in orchestrating an elaborate transnational fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly U.S. and Canadian citizens.
Sixteen people were indicted overall, living in the states of California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas. Two are Canadian citizens; three are Canadian residents, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island in a case stemming from an ICE investigation that identified 300 victims in at least 37 states who lost a combined initial more than $5 million. Investigators also identified a bank account through which they believe approximately $16 million in additional suspected fraudulent funds were laundered.
The bust comes after the greatest number of Chinese and Canadian illegal border crossers were reported under the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
According to the charging documents, the Chinese nationals sent pop-up messages to seniors’ computers purporting to be a well-known technology company claiming the victims’ financial accounts had been compromised, their computers had been hacked, or they were the focus of a criminal investigation. The messages instructed them to call a “live agent” who said their financial assets were at risk or could be garnished and they could help protect them. The seniors were then connected with other fraudsters who claimed to be their financial institution representatives or from government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Reserve Bank.
The fraudster then instructed the seniors to transfer their money through wire or cryptocurrency to accounts they claimed were managed by federal agencies. They also instructed them to withdraw their funds in cash and purchase gold bars and give the cash or gold bars to a purported government courier who would come to their home to transfer it to a secure government location, according to the charges.
Key indictments include Chinese nationals in New York including Nanjun Song, 27, who was illegally living in Brooklyn on an overstayed B2 visa. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering and arrested by ICE Homeland Security Investigations Las Vegas agents. He remains in federal custody in Rhode Island.
Another is Chinese national Xiang Li, 37, living in Flushing, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was arrested by HSI Providence agents with assistance from HSI New York and the New York City Police Department.
Another arrested in New York was Chinese national Xuehai Sun, 37, living in Flushing, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was arrested by HSI Providence agents with assistance from HSI New York and the NYPD.
Rhode Island and Connecticut officials helped arrest Chinese-Canadian citizen Jirui Liu, 23, of Scarborough, Ontario, who was also in the U.S. illegally on an expired visa. He was arrested by HSI Providence agents with assistance from the Connecticut State Police and Narragansett Police Department. Liu was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering and remains in federal custody in Rhode Island.
In Massachusetts, Chinese national Fangzheng Wang, 24, of Westborough, was arrested by HSI Providence and HSI New England agents. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and remains in federal custody in Rhode Island.
Arrest warrants were issued for two individuals in Canada: Chinese national Zhenyang Xin, 25, of Hamilton, Ontario, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Hong Kong-born Wing Kit Ho, 22, of Markham, Ontario, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Of these key publicized indictments, the only non-Chinese national arrested was in Houston: Cynthia Jia Sun, 25, charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HSI Houston agents arrested her with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety. She remains in federal custody in Houston awaiting transfer to Rhode Island.
Victims were residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, Canada and elsewhere.
