A wealthy Chinese couple from Long Island mysteriously disappeared this spring, sparking ongoing attention to the case. The two Chinese suspects are accused of stealing over $2.8 million from the couple’s bank accounts. They were supposed to appear in court for the first time at the Eastern District Federal Court in New York yesterday, September 22. However, one of the male suspects suddenly went missing, leading the judge to issue a bench warrant.
36-year-old Yinye Wang, also known as Roy, resided in Roslyn on Long Island and University Point in Queens. After being arrested in California on September 4 and released on bail, he was scheduled to appear in court in Long Island at the Eastern District Federal Court on September 22. However, he failed to show up at the federal court in Long Island yesterday.
His defense attorney, Felipe Garcia, explained that Wang attempted to fly to New York last week but was denied boarding due to a lack of a passport or REAL ID. Garcia further stated that the last time he spoke to Wang, he mentioned plans to drive across the country to attend the court trial but then lost contact. Despite several attempts to reach Wang via email and phone, Garcia received no response.
During the court session, the prosecution requested the judge to issue an arrest warrant. Judge James M. Wicks issued the warrant, stating, “I have signed the arrest warrant, and once he is apprehended, we will proceed with the prosecution. The warrant is fully justified.”
Failure to appear in court as required by law may lead to consequences such as being labeled a fugitive. Law enforcement can arrest the individual at any time, for example during a traffic stop or identity check. Even if fleeing to another state, evading apprehension is difficult due to information sharing among law enforcement agencies in different states.
According to the indictment, in December 2023, Wang was caught at Los Angeles International Airport with multiple cellphones, over a dozen unauthorized credit cards and bank documents, fake identification cards, and numerous notes containing personal information, indicating his involvement in long-term identity theft activities. He attempted to discard these items into a trash can but was intercepted by officials.
Furthermore, real estate records show that Wang purchased a property in Roslyn on Long Island for $1.2 million last year, while a property in University Point, Queens, had a $3,514 state tax lien that was released in July this year.
Wang’s co-defendant, 55-year-old Qiuju Wu from Flushing Queens, was arrested in Texas in early September as she was preparing to board a flight to Hong Kong. Due to her lack of legal status in the United States, Wu was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
She appeared in federal court in Long Island on Monday for the first time and pleaded not guilty to the bank fraud charges. When asked by the judge if she understood the legal proceedings, she claimed to be a victim herself, stating, “I was also deceived.”
The two are accused of fraudulently obtaining funds from the missing wealthy Chinese couple through forged documents and banking operations. Although the victims are only identified as “Victim-1” and “Victim-2” in the indictment, it aligns with the disappearance of the 44-year-old JuanJuan Zwang and her 48-year-old husband, Peishuan Fan, in a mansion in Old Brookville, Nassau County on Long Island in March earlier this year. They were last seen at the mansion on March 30 and reported missing the following day, leaving behind their 20-year-old and 12-year-old sons.
The prosecution alleges that starting from the end of June, the victims’ bank accounts were changed to a joint account titled “Automatic Transfers to Survivors,” followed by several abnormal transfers totaling approximately $2.8 million within days. While the indictment did not specify the exact relation between Wang and Wu, it stated that they “conspired to commit bank fraud.”
Reported by Long Island’s Newsday, Zwang and Fan moved to the U.S. from the Shanghai area in 2022, initially residing in Jersey City before purchasing a 6,000 square-foot mansion for $3.8 million in cash in 2023. Fan had previously operated a construction company in China and was detained in China for about half a year before coming to the U.S for unknown reasons.
After the disappearance of the couple on March 31, their son returned home to find the mansion’s door open, with no signs of a struggle or break-in according to the police. The disappearance case shocked the affluent community of the Gold Coast on Long Island, even sparking rumors and conspiracy theories. As of now, investigations by the Long Island police and the FBI have not yielded any breakthroughs.
In the months following their disappearance, the funds in their accounts were rapidly depleted. Their family lawyer, John Carman, mentioned that the elder son noticed frequent transfers at the end of June, ultimately revealing the abnormal activity in the bank. Both sons have since returned to China to live with relatives due to visa issues, making their return to the U.S. difficult in the short term.