5 Chinese Nationals Indicted in California in $27 Million Scam Targeting Seniors

Scammers at call centers told victims to send packages of cash to retail locations, then used fake IDs to collect. Over 2,000 people were fooled.

U.S. Attorney's Office on Front Street in San Diego in October 2022. Google Maps/Screenshot via California Insider

Five Chinese nationals living in California and Nevada are accused of teaming up with fraudsters in India to defraud more than 2,000 seniors of more than $27 million through various computer and phone scams, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Federal agents arrested four of the defendants on July 31 in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Wang Zhao, 40, of Henderson, Nevada; and California residents Chen Jiandong, 40, of Pomona; Li Jun, 40, of West Covina; and Wang Xin, 36, of San Gabriel were taken into custody and their homes searched, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.