Final Defendants Plead Guilty in $65 Million Multinational Fraud Ring Targeting Thousands of Seniors

SAN DIEGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Southern), published as received.

SAN DIEGO –  The last of 25 defendants in a $65 million fraud scheme that preyed on thousands of elderly victims in San Diego and beyond admitted their crimes on Friday, marking a significant step toward accountability in the sprawling international case that was bolstered by YouTube scambaiters.

The 25 defendants – mostly Chinese nationals – were arrested in August 2025 after a nationwide, weeklong takedown in California, New York, Texas and Michigan. Three charged defendants remain fugitives.

Haotian Zhang and Zetian Zhang pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday. Haotian Zhang, a Chinese national, was remanded into custody by U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson following his guilty plea. 

Over the past few months, eight other defendants charged as part of the investigation—Guangli Lin, Cheng Li, Weining Su, aka “Ning Ma,” Hongsen Cao, Xinyu Shao, Renchao Chen, Dexiao Lin, Zhiyi Zhang—have also pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in the same fraud and money laundering scheme, and two defendants—Huajian Chen and Jianhao Gao—recently pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmission business.

Videos by YouTubers from Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media helped law enforcement identify multiple defendants and uncover the structure of the fraud conspiracy.  Indeed, in their respective plea agreements, defendants Zhiyi Zhang and Huajian Chen, shown below, admitted to being in YouTube videos in which they were confronted about their involvement in the charged criminal activity.

Operating since at least 2019 and rooted in Southern California, the criminal network—primarily composed of Chinese nationals, many in the U.S. illegally—worked closely with India-based scam call centers. Fraudsters who took the calls posed as technical support agents, government officials, or bank employees, according to court records. Once a victim had been defrauded, victims were instructed to withdraw bulk cash, to conceal the cash in packages, and to send cash-laden packages via express mail carriers to names and addresses provided by the conspirators. The recipient names were fictitious names corresponding with fake IDs. The recipient addresses were for the short-term rental locations. 

In their respective plea agreements, defendants admitted that to facilitate receipt of victim packages, members of the conspiracy booked short-term rentals in a hub-and-spoke pattern: a hub would be booked for approximately one week; spoke locations would be booked nearby for shorter stays.  After some time, members of the conspiracy would relocate to a new location and continue the pattern.

In August 2025, federal agents coordinated a sweeping nationwide takedown of the investigation, including arrests in Southern California, Texas, Michigan and New York.  The investigation started in December 2020 after an elderly victim contacted an express mail carrier after being defrauded into sending bulk cash in the mail. That led to the discovery of 11 total packages, containing approximately $135,000 in cash.  Each of the packages was addressed to a fake name and a short-term rental in the San Diego area.   

The investigation also led to the discovery of several YouTube videos posted in 2020 and 2021 that helped identify other members of the conspiracy. YouTuber Pierogi from “Scammer Payback”— which is known for exposing scammers—documented his interaction with the India-based scam call centers.  In a series of videos, Pierogi from Scammer Payback teamed up with two other YouTubers from “Trilogy Media” to publish videos on their respective YouTube channels.

In coordinated sting operations, Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media baited fraudsters, confronted them on camera, and published those videos to their respective YouTube channels. Videos posted in 2020 and 2021 helped law enforcement identify Zhiyi Zhang, Dudu Chen and Huajian Chen. The videos also helped shed light on how the conspiracy operated and led to the identification of high-level members of the organization. 

After defrauding victims, members of the conspiracy also laundered the proceeds of the fraud scheme.  Specifically, members of the conspiracy set up the operation to conceal the fact that the cash-laden packages were obtained through fraud. Members of the conspiracy also used the proceeds of the fraud scheme to pay other members of the conspiracy and to compensate them for travel expenses used to further the fraud scheme. 

Sentencing hearings for each of the defendants are scheduled before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson as set forth below. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rookard.

DEFENDANTS                                            

Case Number 25-cr-1097-TWR

Hua Wang                                                       Age: 48                                    Flushing, NY

Weining Su, aka “Ning Ma”                           Age: 27                                    Flushing, NY

Case Number 25-cr-1762-TWR

Hongsen Cao, aka “Shawn Cao,”                   Age: 24                                    Los Angeles, CA

Case Number 25-cr-1765-TWR

Xiao Lei Xu, aka “Xiaolei Xu”                       Age: 39                                    Flushing, NY

Wen Chang Wang,                                          Age: 26                                    Detroit, MI

Jiawen Cai, aka “Johnny Cai”                         Age: 28                                    Flushing, NY

Xinyu Shao                                                      Age: 27                                    Flushing, NY

Zhuhan Yin, aka “Iron Yin”                            Age: 30                                    Flushing, NY

*Fugitive 

Ziyue Zhao, aka “Chris Zhao”                        Age: 30                                    Flushing, NY

Guangli Lin                                                     Age: 30                                    Flushing, NY

Wenzhi Chen                                                   Age: 23                                    Austin, TX

*Fugitive                                                                                                          

Jiaxin Wang                                                    Age: 24                                    Flushing, NY

*Fugitive

Haotian Zhang, aka “Kevin Z”                       Age: 28                                    Flushing, NY

Dudu Chen, aka “Norris Chen”                      Age: 31                                    In Custody

Yuhui Sun, aka “Ian Sun”                               Age: 27                                    Flushing, NY

Jiaxin Jiang, aka “YiYi”                                 Age: 26                                    In Custody

Dexiao Lin, aka “Prozac”                               Age: 27                                    Flushing, NY

Zhiyi Zhang, aka “Cream Pablo”                    Age: 29                                    Los Angeles, CA

Zhiwei Chen                                                    Age: 30                                    Levittown, NY

Bing Shen                                                        Age: 41                                    Flushing, NY

Zetian Zhang                                                   Age: 29                                    Flushing, NY

Huajian Chen, aka “Marco Chen”*                Age: 24                                    Austin, TX

Chongchong Li                                                Age: 29                                    Los Angeles, CA

Jianhao Gao, aka “Gh Ghao”*                        Age: 31                                    Flushing, NY

*Unnamed fugitives

Case Number 25-cr-2208-TWR

Cheng Li                                                          Age: 28                                    In Custody

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Count 1 – Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud - Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1349, 2326

Maximum penalty: Forty years in prison; a maximum $1 million fine

Count 2 – Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison; a maximum $500,000 fine or twice the amount of monetary instruments involved in the offense, whichever is greatest

*Defendants Huajian Chen and Jianhao Gao only

Operating Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business – Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1960(a), (b)(1)(B)

Maximum penalty: Five years in prison; a maximum $250,000 fine

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Homeland Security Investigations

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation

San Diego County Sheriff’s Department

San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBSD)

San Diego County District Attorney’s Office

Mountain View (CA) Police Department

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FLDE)

Alachua County (FL) Sheriff’s Department

Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT)

Irvine (CA) Police Department

La Verne (CA) Police Department

Mesa (AZ) Police Department

Sarpy County (NE) Sheriff’s Department

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

For further information, see previous press release.