A Chinese national has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for acting as a courier in a scam that defrauded a senior Montana man out of nearly $200,000.
Luo Wei Jia, 42, of California, was sentenced on July 29 to 27 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters in Billings, Montana, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana.
Luo pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in March.
The 73-year-old victim, from Joliet, Montana, contacted the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office on May 8, 2024, to report that he had been scammed. He told investigators that a pop-up window appeared on his computer about two months earlier, telling him to contact Microsoft.
The victim then communicated with scammers who posed as representatives of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a bank, and a credit card company, and was led to believe that he was not in “compliance” with the FTC, according to the indictment. He was also misled into thinking he needed to provide cash to resolve the issue.
On April 6, 2024, the victim brought $76,000 to a bar in Carbon County, where he gave the cash to Luo, who prosecutors said posed as a bank courier named “Ethan” while wearing sunglasses and a face mask.
Five days later, the victim met Luo at the same bar for a second time and handed over another $53,000 in cash, prosecutors said.
On May 1, 2024, the victim met a different courier and handed over more money, as well as gift cards from Apple and Lowe’s, totaling $5,000, according to prosecutors.
In total, the victim was defrauded of $182,000.
Luo was arrested in Arizona on July 31, 2025. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying five fake Texas driver’s licenses, a Chinese passport bearing his photograph under a different name, gift cards, and more than $10,000 in cash, prosecutors said.
In addition to his prison sentence, Luo was ordered to pay $181,000 in restitution.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Luo will be deported to China upon completion of his prison term.
Prosecutors had sought a 41-month sentence, saying Luo was more than just a courier but an “active and eager member” of an “organized fraud group,” according to their sentencing memorandum filed on July 17.
Luo and his associates exploited the victim’s “fear and naivety” until they had “drained him of every last dollar,” calling the conduct “grotesque behavior,” according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors noted that Luo had come into the United States on a tourist visa and claimed he needed asylum.
“He used that claim to stay in this country and then engaged in systematic fraud against vulnerable U.S. citizens,” prosecutors wrote.
“Luo’s actions have undermined every honest immigrant and asylum seeker who come to the United States fleeing persecution and looking for a better life.”
Luo’s lawyer had argued that his client be sentenced to 15 months, noting his lack of a criminal history and his limited role in the fraud scheme, according to a sentencing memorandum filed on July 17.
“He acted as the pick-up guy. He did not commence contact with the victim and he did not organize the pick-up,” Luo’s lawyer wrote.
According to court records, Luo’s legal representation was terminated on July 29.
Several other Chinese nationals have been sentenced for scamming seniors in recent months.
