A Chinese national on a work visa has pleaded guilty to her role in a scheme to defraud elderly people, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced on March 26.

Liu Xin, 40, was residing in Apopka, Florida, on an H-1B visa at the time of the offenses. A federal grand jury in Gainesville indicted her in December last year, and she later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Liu conspired with a China-based co-conspirator and others to defraud elderly victims through fraudulent phone calls and electronic messages.

Under the scheme, Liu acted as a courier, driving to locations across Florida to collect cash packages from victims and deliver them to other conspirators. According to prosecutors, Liu made at least six such trips from July 22, 2025, to July 30, 2025, picking up or attempting to pick up more than $95,000 from victims.

“Elder fraud is a devastating crime that is growing increasingly common, as fraudsters like this alien and her China-based co-conspirators prey upon our vulnerable retiree population to enrich themselves,” John P. Heekin, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Stopping elder fraud depends upon educating the public about schemes like this, and encouraging victims to report these crimes to law enforcement as quickly as possible,” Heekin added. “My office will continue to investigate and aggressively prosecute every member of these fraud schemes to hold them accountable for their heinous crimes and achieve justice for their victims.”

According to a six-page court filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Liu joined the scheme after responding to a social media job posting, through which she contacted the China-based co-conspirator. The two communicated in Mandarin, and the co-conspirator directed her to pickup locations.

On July 29, 2025, Liu traveled to Manatee County and attempted to collect $25,000 in cash from an elderly victim who had been duped by other members of the scheme into believing his accounts had been “compromised” and that he needed to transfer his money to the Federal Trade Commission to “secure” them. The conspirators falsely claimed Liu was an FBI agent who would collect the funds.

When Liu arrived, the victim questioned her identity and reported the incident to law enforcement, according to the court document.

Liu asked the China-based co-conspirator “for more work” on the very next day, and she was directed to Gainesville to pick up cash from a 73-year-old victim who lived in an “assisted living apartment complex for seniors,” according to a court filing.

“This victim was falsely informed by an individual purporting to work for the Department of Treasury that he was a victim of identity theft and people were removing money from his account to purchase Bitcoin,” the court filing reads.

The 73-year-old victim handed Liu $15,000 in cash. She kept $1,400 for herself before delivering the remaining money to a person in St. Petersburg.

On July 31, 2025, Liu asked about “even more work,” but before she could take on another job, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrived at her residence to question her about her attempt to collect money two days earlier.

“With the exception of the July 29, 2025 transaction in Manatee County, Liu personally verified the contents of each package and was paid with a portion of the fraud proceeds. Liu’s actions resulted in substantial financial hardship to at least one victim,” the court filing reads.

Liu is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, and faces up to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She is expected to be deported after completing her sentence.

The Epoch Times contacted Liu’s lawyer for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.