A federal judge in Pennsylvania sentenced three Chinese nationals this month for their roles in a scheme in which couriers went to elderly victims' homes, posed as federal law enforcement officers and took cash they said would be protected, the Justice Department announced. More than 50 victims in 19 states lost more than $10 million.
The scheme began with a computer "pop-up" that falsely told victims their computers or bank accounts had been compromised, according to the release. Couriers then collected the cash in person, and the conspiracy moved it to other members in Los Angeles.
Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann handed down the sentences in the Middle District of Pennsylvania over four days:
- Yankun Jiang, 26, of State College, received 84 months on October 22 and was ordered to pay $1,267,122 in restitution. Prosecutors say he started as a courier and became a key supervisor of the couriers, collecting stolen cash from the others, packaging it and coordinating delivery to Los Angeles.
- Lei Bao, 24, of New York, received 30 months on October 20 and was ordered to pay $377,591. She made several cash pick-ups and, on at least five occasions, carried suitcases of stolen cash from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.
- Hanlin Yang, 26, of State College, received 24 months on October 23 and was ordered to pay $400,800. He went to the homes of at least six victims to pick up cash.
Together the three got 138 months. The restitution orders total $2,045,513, about a fifth of the more than $10 million the conspiracy took, so most of the money is unaccounted for in the sentences. The release does not say how much was recovered.
The three were among eight Chinese nationals indicted in July 2025, when the office announced the charges. The Sun-Gazette reported that the eight had obtained student visas to attend college in the United States, and that the conspiracy ran from about August 2023 to February 22, 2024. The charge was conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries up to 20 years. The new release does not say what happened to the other five defendants or whether any of the three faces deportation.
"These scammers targeted and financially exploited the most vulnerable individuals in our society," said U.S. Attorney Miller. FBI Philadelphia special agent in charge Wayne A. Jacobs said fraud targeting older Americans threatens "not just their financial stability, but also their sense of security." HSI Philadelphia, which investigated with the FBI's State College office, called the defendants people who "took advantage of older Americans' trust and fears."
The case sits inside a much larger problem. Americans 60 and older reported about $7.7 billion in losses to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2025, roughly 60% more than the year before, AARP reported from the bureau's annual report.