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Mail fraud investigation: 3 Chinese nationals accused of stealing from Florida seniors
Three Chinese nationals are behind bars after their alleged participation in a multi-million dollar scheme. With 28 victims listed in the complaint, the U.S. Attorney said number of victims is likely to keep growing. Prosecutors say the group targeted people between 60 and 80 years old.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Three Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged in connection with a multi-million dollar fraud scheme targeting senior citizens across the U.S., according to U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Gregory Kehoe.
Yongbo Li, Huashan Lu and Yuxiang Zhao are now jailed on a charge of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud.
The arrested suspects are of illegal status, prosecutors said, because they overstayed their visas. One man wanted is a dual American and Chinese citizen, Kehoe said.
According to a 67-page criminal complaint, Li led the group as they made phone calls and sent messages to coerce seniors in 17 different states to send money to shell companies that would be wired to China or even Bahrain.
3 suspects wanted
Prosecutors said Ling Wang, Shouxin Luo and Xiaowei Lin are still wanted. They are believed to be in China, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.
It's unclear whether the three wanted suspects will be extradited from China.
Nearly 30 victims, $2.2 million stolen
Twenty-eight alleged victims are listed in the complaint, but prosecutors said Tuesday more victims are being identified by the day, with the final tally expected to grow. According to the complaint, one victim lost as much as $240,000. The total take was at least $2.2 million, according to investigators.
Most of that money is not likely to be recovered, Kehoe said.
Online complaint alerted police to fraud
The backstory:
Prosecutors said the first tip about this case came in June when Orlando police got an online fraud complaint filed by an elderly woman from Illinois.
The police department's financial crimes unit contacted the Postal Inspection Service. According to the complaint, investigators tracked down a P.O. Box at a UPS store in Orlando belonging to one of the suspects and accessed by two other suspects.
Prosecutors said they surveilled the suspects and watched them go in and out of a bank in Orlando.
What they're saying:
U.S. Attorney Kehoe said his office is aggressively going after fraudsters.
"Wherever you're going to find fraud, wherever it lurks its head, or raises its head, the tolerance level from the department is zero, and we will be coming after you," Kehoe said.
Kehoe said speed is the most important factor in trying to get a victim's money back.
"[It's] very difficult to get that money back because it’ll hit an account say somewhere in the Bahamas and then it’ll move to some other locations and before you know it within a 24-hour period it’s ticked the boxes in six different financial institutions," Kehoe said. "So with regard to whether the People's Republic of China is involved... the government... remains to be seen. I just do not know."
Orlando Police Department Chief Eric Smith said his officers are ready to investigate any complaints.
"Anybody who feels like something crazy happened, something unusual happened, or feels like they were taken advantage of, please call," Smith said. "Give us a chance to do our job and look into it.
What's next:
Investigators are still working to pinpoint when the scheme began and how big the web is, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The Source: The information from this report was gathered from a criminal complaint and a news conference hosted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.