East County News Service

August 2, 2024 (San Diego) – The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego announces the arrest of five Chinese nationals accused of participating in a fraud and money laundering scheme that bilked more than 2,000 seniors out of over $27 million.

The five defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly ran a multinational organized fraud ring targeting elderly victims across the U.S. from 2021 through June 2024. Conspirators contacted victims through pop-up ads, emails and phone calls to con victims into contacting scam call centers in India, the indictment indicates. Conspirators worked to build trust with victims, and in many cases, had victims install remote desktop software that they used to gain access to victims’ computers, accordingto prosecutors.

The scammers allegedly adopted a number of guises – posing as technical support, government and bank workers – to induce victims to send money to other conspirators, including the five defendants charged in the indictment.

East County News Service

July 29,2020 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is warning the public to be cautious of telephone calls by scammers posing as DEA employees attempting to defraud and extort victims.

The schemers call the victims, spoofing DEA phone numbers in order to appear legitimate, and threaten arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-trafficking activities unless victims pay a “fine” over the phone, via wire transfer, or through a gift card.

The reported scam tactics continually change but often share many of the same characteristics. Callers use fake names and badge numbers or names of well-known DEA officials and may:

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