Fraudsters Scam Elderly Man Out of $25K, Claiming His Account Was Linked to an Illegal Child Exploitation Ring

by Mary Boldish James

An elderly man in Ventura County, California, was scammed out of $25,000 by a pair of fraudsters claiming he was linked to an illegal child exploitation ring in Canada. The scam began as a text message and quickly spiraled out of control. 

A Scary Situation

Shaohua Sun, of Monterey Park, and Yanwen Gu, of Rosemead, both located near Los Angeles, pleaded guilty this month after being caught scamming an elderly Ventura resident out of $25,000 with plans to extort an additional $50,000 from the man and his wife.

The victim received a text message asking him to verify a $350 purchase at the Apple Store. A phone number urged the man to call “immediately” if he hadn’t made the purchase.

The Ventura Police Step In

According to the Ventura County Police, “Once on the phone, an unidentified co-conspirator falsely claimed the elder victim’s local credit union account was linked to supposed child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) content based in Canada. The elder victim was then directed to call a telephone number supposedly belonging to the 'Ventura County Credit Union Fraud Department.'”

The caller, identifying herself as “Jade,” instructed the victim to immediately withdraw $25,000 in cash and meet a purported undercover police officer in the City of Ventura to surrender the funds as “evidence,” the police report concludes.

After delivering the money, the victim and his wife began to suspect they’d been scammed and called the police. “Jade” reached back out, demanding an additional $50,000. Ventura police helped the man complete the next drop and arrested Gu and Sun at the scene.

Elaborate Scams

These scams often target older adults, but can claim victims of any age. They are sometimes initiated as text messages, but can also be phone calls or emails. You should always ignore these messages, no matter how official they look. If you’re uncomfortable ignoring them, you can independently call your credit card company or bank to discuss the potential charges.

You should never respond to messages like these or call a number provided by the scammer. Always contact financial institutions or companies through their official communication channels, as listed on your card or on the company website.

The Recovery

Lucky for the victim, the scammers did surrender the original $25,000 cash. Now they both face up to 4 years in prison, with an additional 2 years of probation. Hopefully, the scammers will receive the longest possible punishment, and the victim will never have to endure an ordeal like this again.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. 

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Fraudsters Scam Elderly Man Out of $25K, Claiming His Account Was Linked to an Illegal Child Exploitation Ring