Student Visa Holders Help Steal Over $10,000,000 From Elderly Americans With Fake Pop-Ups and Phony Federal Agents

Three Chinese nationals in the US on student visas have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a scheme that stole more than $10 million from elderly Americans.

The group targeted more than 50 victims in 19 states using fake computer security warnings and couriers who posed as federal agents, reports NTD.

Victims saw phony Microsoft alerts claiming their computers had been hacked.

When they called the number on the screen, they were told their bank accounts were not safe and that they needed to pull out their money.

The callers coached victims to mislead bank tellers about the large withdrawals, sometimes by saying the cash was for home remodeling.

Victims were then told federal agents or marshals would come to their homes to collect the cash for safekeeping, with code words handed out in advance to make the visits seem real.

Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann sentenced Yankun Jiang, 26, of State College, Pennsylvania, to seven years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $1.26 million in restitution.

Prosecutors say Jiang started out as a courier and later became a key supervisor who gathered and packaged cash from other couriers and set up deliveries to members of the ring in Los Angeles.

Lei Bao, 24, of New York, got 30 months in prison and was ordered to pay $377,591 in restitution after picking up cash from victims and carrying suitcases of stolen money from Philadelphia to Los Angeles at least five times.

Hanlin Yang, 26, of State College, got two years in prison and was ordered to pay $400,800 in restitution for collecting cash at the homes of at least six victims.

Says U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller for the Middle District of Pennsylvania,

“These scammers targeted and financially exploited the most vulnerable individuals in our society. These sentences reflect our office’s commitment to protecting elderly victims and prosecuting them to the full extent of the law.”

A fourth defendant, Kuo Zhang, pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and has not yet been sentenced.

All four were among eight Chinese nationals charged in the case, and prosecutors say all eight had obtained student visas to attend US colleges.

The four other defendants still face conspiracy charges.