A Chinese national living illegally in Los Angeles has been sentenced to eight years in prison for serving as a courier in a series of scams targeting elderly Americans.
The Southern District of Ohio Prosecutor’s Office announced on Tuesday (24th) that 41-year-old He Xiangyang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit telecommunication fraud and bank fraud in a federal court in Southern Ohio in November 2024.
According to the indictment, the scam defrauded over $9.5 million from “numerous unsuspecting elderly victims” in at least 14 states out of their personal bank accounts and retirement funds.
Prosecutors stated that while working as a courier, He Xiangyang personally collected over $500,000 worth of cash and gold from the victims.
Dominick S. Gerace II, federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Ohio, commented in a statement, “Retired Americans unknowingly entrusted their hard-earned retirement savings to criminals like He. He is an illegal immigrant who targets vulnerable populations.”
The sentencing memorandum submitted by the prosecution on the 23rd detailed how victims of such scams would typically receive computer information or unsolicited phone calls from individuals posing as employees or customer service personnel from legitimate companies like Microsoft and Amazon.
Subsequently, the victims would be transferred to individuals claiming to be “security officers” or “government officials,” alleging that the victims’ IP addresses or financial accounts had been compromised or were linked to criminal activities.
To gain the victims’ trust, the scammers would provide forged company employee identification numbers as well as the names of real government officials. According to the memorandum, some fraudsters even falsely claimed to represent the Federal Trade Commission.
“The criminals then threaten these victims, who are almost entirely unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, with arrest warrants and the confiscation of their life savings if they do not cooperate with the investigation,” the prosecution wrote. “Under the fabricated threat of criminal consequences, the criminals persuade the victims that the only way to ‘cleanse’ or ‘free’ their funds from international criminal activities is to withdraw their life savings and deposit them into a ‘secure’ government account.”
The sentencing memorandum also outlined He Xiangyang’s interactions with victims during the course of the scams.
In February 2024, He first collected items from a 75-year-old male victim in Orem, Utah. From late that month to early April, He traveled to six states, including New York, Utah, Minnesota, and Florida, collecting packages from 17 victims aged 65 and above, containing cash or gold ranging from $35,000 to $73,000.
On April 4, 2024, He went to Ohio to collect payment from a victim and was subsequently arrested.
“Upon arrest, He told officers that he was looking for construction work in the area, which was evidently untrue, indicating that he was well aware that his actions were illegal,” prosecutors stated. They also noted that He participated in the scam scheme to “financially support himself and his family” and recommended the court sentence him to at least 51 months in prison.
In a sentencing memorandum submitted to the court in March of last year, He’s lawyer argued that his client “was not fully aware of the entire scope of the conspiracy” and should not be sentenced to more than 51 months in prison.
The lawyer wrote, “Mr. He understands that his actions were wrong, and he deeply regrets the economic losses suffered by the victims due to his involvement in illegal activities.”
The Epoch Times attempted to reach out to He’s lawyer but did not receive a response.