On March 6, the authorities in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, announced the arrest of 7 Chinese individuals from New York City on March 4. They are accused of laundering and defrauding $20 million, mainly targeting senior citizens. The suspects allegedly used fraudulent pop-up windows on computers to deceive victims into purchasing gift cards from Home Depot and Lowe’s. They would then use the gift cards to buy goods and resell them for profit. The number of victims reached up to 1,800 people across 45 states. The 7 suspects are currently facing charges of conspiracy and money laundering.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, investigators spent 15 months unraveling this organized money laundering case, which started in January 2023 and continued until now. The suspects used deceptive means to acquire Home Depot and Lowe’s gift cards which were then used to purchase goods at retail stores in Nassau County and New York State and resold to consumers in New York City.
The suspects’ fraudulent methods involved using spyware pop-ups and scam text messages to deceive elderly victims. They misleadingly informed the victims that their computers, identities, and financial information had been compromised and used to purchase illegal child pornography materials. Due to fear of legal consequences, victims were coerced into calling a specific number as instructed by the suspects to purchase gift cards from retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Subsequently, the suspects used the proceeds from the fraud to purchase physical goods such as copper pipes and water heaters from these retailers. The items were stored in various buildings in Flushing, Bayside, Fresh Meadows, and Brooklyn, and then resold to plumbing and home renovation companies in Queens and Brooklyn.
District Attorney Anne Donnelly stated, “We believe that more than 1,800 individuals nationwide have fallen victim, spanning across 45 states from New York to as far as Hawaii and Alaska.”
Investigators discovered that the criminal syndicate conducted over 6,000 transactions at 80 different Home Depot and Lowe’s stores in New York State on more than 400 different dates.
Prosecutors claim that surveillance footage captured the suspects shopping at retail chain stores, further corroborating the charges against them. A search warrant executed on March 4 alone yielded products worth $100,000, including 12 cars, high-end jewelry, and handbags found in the suspects’ vehicles.
The 7 victims are from Flushing and Staten Island in New York. Their anglicized names are Sky Cunhong Lin (36), Lifa Wang (49), Hai Tao Liu (38), Yu Lin (35), Jie Lin (32), Lixi Wang (40), and Jia Bin Chen (39).
The defendants have pleaded not guilty pending trial. If convicted, they could face a prison sentence of 5 to 15 years. The next court date is scheduled for March 14.