A Chinese national has been sentenced in a San Diego federal court to two years in prison for being part of a multinational fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.
U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta handed down the sentence for 35-year-old Liu Jiaci on Aug. 22, after Liu was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and criminal forfeiture, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
In deciding Liu’s sentence, Ohta noted the “sophisticated means” that Liu and his co-conspirators had deployed under their scheme, as well as the financial hardship that the defendant had caused to his victims.
Liu admitted in his plea deal that he traveled throughout California and Arizona from June 2, 2023, to June 9, 2023, to personally collect $202,000 from six elderly victims. He also admitted to impersonating a U.S. Marshal on at least one occasion to further the fraud scheme.
“Scamming the elderly is a reprehensible crime that robs individuals of their hard-earned savings and the dignity they deserve in their golden years,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement.
“There’s a cruelty in being willing to con your way to a victim’s door, look your victim in the eye, and physically take their life savings from them. This office will not tolerate deceitful and cruel criminals exploiting seniors.”
In recent months, prosecutors have brought several fraud cases involving Chinese nationals, including a lawful permanent resident in California accused of defrauding an elderly woman out of more than $70,000.
Scheme
It was during one of his pickups—from a 63-year-old male living in Poway, California—that led to Liu’s arrest, according to the criminal complaint.
The Poway victim, identified only as “Victim-1” in the court document, clicked on a computer pop-up in June 2023 that notified him of a possible computer virus. The victim called the number on the pop-up and was informed by a scammer that his computer was infected with two viruses. Later, the victim was told by a second scammer, who pretended to be a bank employee, that his bank account had fraudulent activity in the form of two separate pending withdrawals for $8,000.
The fake bank employee then advised the Poway victim to withdraw all of his money from the bank account for safekeeping. After withdrawing his savings, in the amount of $28,000, the victim was told that someone would show up at his residence to pick up the money to keep it safe.
The Poway victim “became suspicious” and contacted the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the court document states, and Liu was subsequently arrested when he showed up at the victim’s residence to collect the money on June 9, 2023.
Another victim, identified only as “Victim-2,” was an 83-year-old female residing in Laguna Woods, California, according to the court document.
“Victim-2 fell victim to a layered tech support and bank impersonation scam and was deceived into withdrawing approximately $25,000 from Bank B,” the court document reads. “Initially, Victim-2 was directed to deposit the funds into a Bitcoin ATM; however, Victim-2 was unable to figure out how to do so and Victim-2 was instructed to deliver the funds to a person.”
That recipient turned out to be Liu.
The remaining four victims were all duped under similar circumstances, according to the court document.
Liu picked up $20,000 from “Victim-3,” a 72-year-old female residing in Phoenix on June 6, 2023.
“Victim-4,” a 71-year-old female residing in Moorpark, California, handed Liu $29,000 on June 7, 2023.
Liu picked up $50,000 from “Victim-5,” a 74-year-old female residing in Scottsdale, Arizona, on June 8, 2023. Before handing over the money, the victim was duped into allowing scammers access to her computer via remote desktop software.
“Victim-6,” a 78-year-old female residing in Los Angeles, handed Liu $50,000 on June 9, 2023.
Gordon and Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Kevin Mokhtari, in a sentencing memorandum filed on Aug. 14, asked the judge to sentence Liu to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
“Each of these victims worked a lifetime to save up enough money to have a dignified retirement. But because of Liu and his co-conspirators, they have each lost substantial sums of money—at a time when they realistically have no means of earning the money back,” they wrote.
“That Liu committed this crime targeting the elderly while a guest in the country is particularly troublesome.”
The Epoch Times contacted Liu’s lawyer and didn’t receive a response by publication time.
