ST. LOUIS – A trio of Californians has been federally indicted for their alleged role in a nationwide scam targeting elderly victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The indictment, unsealed on May 8, charges Bowen Chen, 21, of Monterey Park, Jiacheng Chen, 19, of East San Gabriel, and Vianne Chen, a.k.a. Tingting T. Chen, 41, of California with participating in a conspiracy that used Taiwanese passports, fraudulent immigration documents, and bank accounts to scam elderly victims nationwide.
This marks the latest development in a case that has already ensnared four other Californians, including Liang Jin, 24, of Walnut, Tsz Yin Kan, 41, of Chino Hills, Kaiyu Wen, 25, of Irvine, and Yu-Chieh Huang, 22, of Chino Hills, who were previously indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit mail, bank, and wire fraud.
According to the indictment, the scammers relied on a network of “money mules” to aid their schemes, which targeted older Americans with tech support fraud, romance fraud, and imposter scams. The scammers tricked their victims into collecting and delivering large amounts of cash to money mules, who then deposited the funds into a bank account that received over $7 million.
According to the indictment, Bowen Chen was the largest depositor into the account, depositing approximately $1.3 million, while Jiacheng Chen deposited around $615,000 and Kan deposited $440,000. Huang, who was the first to be charged in the case, was accused of tricking an elderly Missouri man into paying $88,000 to avoid prosecution for a fake virus on his computer.
The case is part of the DOJ’s Money Mule Initiative, an annual campaign to identify, disrupt, and prosecute networks of individuals who transmit funds from fraud victims to international fraudsters.
“These scammers thought they could target vulnerable seniors and get away with it, but thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners, they’re facing justice,” said U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry. “We urge anyone who has been a victim of financial fraud to come forward and report it to the authorities.”
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry and Kyle Bateman are prosecuting it.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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