Alaskans are among nearly 300 elderly victims in 37 states who were targeted in a wide-reaching transnational fraud and money laundering scheme that cost seniors across the US and Canada at least $5 million, according to a federal indictment unsealed in Rhode Island.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) say the conspiracy involved fraudulent pop-up messages on victims’ computers, often posing as alerts from well-known technology companies, claiming that bank accounts were compromised or that victims were under investigation.
The pop-ups directed victims, including residents of Alaska, to call bogus “agents” posing as employees of financial institutions or government entities like the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission. Victims were then pressured through coordinated phone calls into transferring their life savings, via wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or even in-person deliveries of gold bars or cash, to fraudsters posing as government couriers, under the guise of “protecting” their assets.
The fraud included a scheme to steal cash, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, and gold from victims who were “defrauded through misrepresentations, including, but not limited to, statements to victims that their bank accounts and assets had been compromised by fraudulent transactions; that their bank accounts and assets were subject to garnishment by the government because the victims were under investigation for criminal activity; that to protect their assets and to avoid garnishment, the victims needed to withdraw funds from their bank accounts and liquidate their assets and obtain cash, cryptocurrency, and gold; and that if the victims gave the cash, cryptocurrency, and gold to a courier or government representative, the funds from their cash, cryptocurrency, and gold would be held in a secure location, would be protected, and would not be subject to garnishment,” the indictment reads.
Authorities have charged eight individuals for their alleged roles in orchestrating and facilitating the scheme:
- Nanjun Song, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, a Chinese national alleged to have overstayed a B2 visa, was arrested in Las Vegas.
- Jirui Liu, 23, of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, a dual citizen of China and Canada, was arrested in Rhode Island.
- Xiang Li, 37, and Xuehai Sun, 37, both of Flushing, New York, Chinese nationals, were arrested in New York.
- Fangzheng Wang, 24, of Westborough, Massachusetts, a Chinese national, was arrested in New England.
- Cynthia Jia Sun, 25, of Houston, Texas, is in federal custody pending transfer to Rhode Island.
- Zhenyang Xin, 25, of Hamilton, Ontario, and Wing Kit Ho, 22, of Markham, Ontario, are still at large. Arrest warrants have been issued.
In addition to the $5 million in confirmed victim losses, authorities say they uncovered a bank account that may have laundered an additional $16 million in suspected fraud proceeds.
The indictment, returned in US District Court in Providence, charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and/or money laundering. If convicted, they could face significant prison time.
The investigation was led by HSI Providence and IRS Criminal Investigation, with support from agencies in Texas, New York, New England, and Canada, including the Narragansett and East Providence Police Departments, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Connecticut State Police.
The case is part of a broader effort by the Rhode Island Homeland Security Task Force, a multi-agency initiative aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations involved in fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and other serious crimes.
Federal authorities are urging the public, particularly seniors, to remain vigilant and skeptical of unsolicited tech warnings or financial threats appearing online. Anyone who believes they may have been targeted is encouraged to report the incident to law enforcement.
