L.A. County duo faces felony charges for attempting to scam elderly victim out of $75K, DA’s office says
Two Los Angeles County residents face felony charges for allegedly trying to defraud an elderly Ventura County man of $75,000.
Yanwen Gu, 40, of Rosemead, and Shaohua Sun, 39, of Monterey Park, initially tricked the senior citizen into giving them $25,000 in cash on March 18, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said.
“A local senior citizen received a text message instructing him to use his credit to authorize an alleged $350 Apple Store purchase,” the Ventura County District Attorney’s office said in a news release. “This text message contained a phone number directing the elder to call ‘immediately’.”
When the victim called the number, the person on the phone lied and said the victim’s bank account was being used to purchase child pornography in Canada, the prosecutor’s office said. The victim was then told to call another number for the “Ventura County Credit Union Fraud Department.”
Suspects Yanwen Gu (left) of Rosemead and Shaohua Sun (right) of Monterey Park face felony charges for their roles in the alleged elder fraud scheme.
“The caller, who identified herself as ‘Jade,’ instructed the victim to immediately withdraw $25,000 in cash and meet an alleged undercover police officer in the City of Ventura to turn over the money as ‘evidence,'” the DA’s office said. “During this phone call, the elderly victim was given a ‘code phrase’ to read to the alleged undercover officer at the meeting before handing over $25,000 in cash.”
The man met with a co-conspirator in the case and allegedly gave him the “code word” before handing over $25,000. Following the exchange, the victim became suspicious of the interaction and contacted the Ventura Police Department. The next day, while the victim was being questioned by police, a suspected scammer contacted him again by phone, this time demanding $50,000 in cash.
“VPD detectives immediately coordinated a law enforcement operation in which police monitored multiple phone calls to scammers believed to be operating outside the United States,” the DA’s office said. “A second meeting was eventually scheduled with the scammers in the City of Ventura, where they expected to receive $50,000 in cash from the elderly victim through the same fraudulent scheme.”
On March 19, Gu approached the victim in Ventura and expected him to hand over $50,000 by presenting another “code statement.” Police intervened and arrested Gu immediately after he accepted what he thought was $50,000, the prosecutor’s office said. Sun allegedly kept a lookout for him and he was arrested during the sting.
Gu and Sun were charged with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to commit grand larceny and attempted grand larceny, for their alleged involvement in the elderly fraud scheme. Gu and Sun appeared in court on March 23. They did not accept the accusations.
Gu and Sun remain in custody on $500,000 bail. The court granted a motion to review the sources of bail money provided by the defendants to ensure that the funds in question were not from any of the alleged victims.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office provided the following tips from the FBI to avoid these types of scams:
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Be wary of unsolicited phone calls, text messages, emails, or mail that direct the person to act quickly, scan the QR code, and/or call the phone number specified in the request.
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Recognize fraudulent attempts and immediately terminate all contact(s) with the perpetrator.
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Resist the pressure to move quickly. Scammers often create a false sense of urgency to create fear in their victims and persuade them to take immediate action.
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If you feel you are in danger or suspect possible fraud, call the police immediately.
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Never give out personally identifiable information (PIN) over the phone, text message, or email.
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Take advantage of up-to-date anti-virus software and malware protection on all electronic devices.
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