A Chinese national has been sentenced to five years in prison in Florida over his role in a tech support scam.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber sentenced Cao Jiaan to 60 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay more than $2 million in restitution on July 31, according to court documents.
Cao pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud earlier this year.
One of the victims, in her 80s, lived in Florida’s Marion County. According to the plea agreement, the victim contacted the local sheriff’s office on Dec. 6, 2024, reporting that when she turned on her computer about a week earlier, multiple windows appeared on the screen accompanied by an alarm. One of the windows directed the victim to call a “Windows technician” for assistance, which she did.
On the other end of the line was a woman who identified herself as “Nancy” and claimed she could resolve the issue, then proceeded to “fix” the computer problem.
Shortly after, the victim received another call, this time from an individual posing as a Truist Bank manager named “Kai Nelson.” Nelson falsely claimed that the victim’s bank account had been hacked and used to open fraudulent accounts involved in purchasing child pornography.
Nelson instructed the victim to drive to a cryptocurrency ATM and send $7,300 to keep her money “safe”—a demand the victim complied with.
Days later, Nelson called back with another demand: buy $160,000 in gold to hand over to a “federal agent” for safekeeping. The victim complied, wiring her savings to a gold dealer in Jacksonville, Florida. However, the transaction triggered alarm bells for the gold business owner, who suspected a scam and promptly alerted law enforcement.
Working with law enforcement, the gold dealer shipped a “decoy package” filled with “various items to simulate weight during shipping,” according to the plea agreement. Once it arrived, Nelson instructed the victim to photograph the package and send proof of the wire transfer receipt confirming the gold purchase.
The drop-off was set for Dec. 12, 2024. As Nelson kept the victim on the phone, law enforcement officials also arrived at the victim’s residence. When Cao arrived to collect the package, law enforcement moved in and took him into custody as he approached the front door.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigators discovered from his phone that Cao had used Telegram to communicate with coconspirators in the fraud scheme.
“Further review of Cao’s cellular telephone revealed a list of addresses throughout the country linked to other fraud victims as well as Uber travel receipts which confirmed Cao’s travel to those same locations,” the plea agreement reads.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Cao in March 2025.
In a sentencing memorandum filed last month, Cao’s lawyer defended her client by arguing that he was a “minimal participant” in the fraud scheme.
“Mr. Cao’s role was limited to that of a courier who lacked knowledge of the nature and scope of the greater conspiracy,” Cao’s lawyer wrote.
According to the sentencing memorandum, Cao, 35, legally immigrated to the United States with his wife in 2016, with legal status based on an asylum claim.
“Mr. Cao took orders but never directed other individuals. Although the overall conspiracy resulted in losses of over $1,500,000, Mr. Cao received less than $10,000 for his services,” Cao’s lawyer wrote.
Cao’s lawyer declined to comment on the sentencing when contacted by The Epoch Times on Aug. 3.
Cao’s case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
