Federal prosecutors in Williamsport announced Friday that a grand jury indicted eight Chinese nationals living in the United States on student visas for their alleged roles in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that targeted elderly Americans and defrauded them of more than $10 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus stated that two of the defendants were studying at Penn State University.
According to Gurganus, the defendants—from Pennsylvania, California, New York, New Jersey, and Florida—are suspected of executing a computer “pop-up” fraud between August 2023 and February 2024.
The scam tricked victims into believing that their bank or computer accounts had been hijacked by sending them bogus security alerts.
Once victims responded, conspirators allegedly posed as federal officers and personally visited victims’ houses to collect significant sums of money, stating it would be safe.
The defendants indicted are Yankun Jiang, 24, and Hanlin Yang, 24, both of State College; Chenhao Chen, 25, Xiaoqing Tu, 24, and Dongjie Lu, 35, all of California; Lei Bao, 22, of New York; Kuo Zhang, 31, of New Jersey; and Jiacheng Zhang, 25, of Florida.
Authorities said the plan affected more than 50 people in 19 states.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd is prosecuting.
“This type of fraud causes lasting emotional and financial damage to elderly victims,” said Edward V. Owens, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia. “We are committed to ensuring justice is served.”
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison plus additional penalties.
