DAYTON — A Chinese national living illegally in Los Angeles was sentenced to prison this week for his role in a fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.
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Xiangyang He, 41, was sentenced to eight years in prison, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio confirmed.
He personally picked up more than $500,000 in cash and gold from older victims, including at least one victim in Ohio.
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According to court documents, victims were typically contacted through unsolicited messages sent to their computers or cell phones. Some victims received phone calls from individuals claiming to be customer service representatives or employees of legitimate businesses.
They’re then directed to contact a “security official” for the business or a “government employee” for more information. These individuals would claim the victim’s bank account or IP address had been compromised and used in a criminal investigation.
The perpetrators of the scheme often used the names of real government employees or provided fictitious employee identification numbers to appear legitimate. They used fear to manipulate the victims, stating that there were warrants for their arrest or that their life savings would soon be seized, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Victims were eventually instructed to withdraw large sums of cash or purchase gold bars from online brokers. The conspirators told the elderly targets to deliver the cash or gold to a “government employee” at a specific time and place, claiming the assets would be placed in secure government accounts for safekeeping.
From February through early April 2024, officials said He flew to at least six states to pick up approximately 17 packages from victims who were 65 years old or older. Those packages included $35,000 to $73,000 in cash or gold.
He was arrested on April 4, 2024, when he came to the Southern District of Ohio to get funds from a victim.
He pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud in November 2024.
“Retired Americans unknowingly give away their hard-earned retirement savings to criminals like He, an illegal alien who preyed on a vulnerable population,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “This sort of conspiracy uses deceptive tactics and fear to steal millions of dollars in savings and retirement accounts from hardworking Americans. My office will do everything we can to protect our elderly citizens. And we want folks to be aware of these schemes so they can protect themselves from future fraud attempts.”
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