Chinese illegal alien sentenced to 8 years in prison for role in fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans’ retirement & savings accounts

DAYTON, Ohio – Xiangyang He, 41, a Chinese national and illegal alien living in Los Angeles, was sentenced in U.S. District Court here to 96 months in prison for his role as a courier in a fraud scheme that targeted elderly Americans. He personally picked up more than half a million dollars in cash and gold from older victims, including at least one victim in Ohio. 

“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.”

According to court documents, victims of the scam are usually contacted initially through a message sent to their computer or cell phone or an unsolicited phone call by a person purporting to be an employee or customer service representative from a legitimate business.

A conspirator then directs the victim to contact either a “security official” for the given company or a “government employee” for more information. The conspirators represent to the victim that an IP address, bank account or other account has been compromised, and victim information has been used in some sort of criminal activity for which they are being investigated.

The scheme perpetrators often use fictitious employee identification numbers or names of legitimate government employees. They also tell victims there is a warrant for their arrest or their life savings will be seized.

Finally, elderly victims are instructed to withdraw large amounts of cash or purchase gold bars from online brokers and give the cash or gold to a “government employee” at a specific time and place for purported safe keeping in secure government accounts.

From late February through early April 2024, He flew to at least six different states to pick up approximately 17 packages from victims ages 65 or older. Packages included $35,000 to $73,000 in cash or gold. On April 4, 2024, He traveled to the Southern District of Ohio to retrieve funds from a victim and was subsequently arrested.

The defendant was indicted by a grand jury in April 2024 and pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Jason Rees, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, announced the sentence imposed on Feb. 23 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Newman. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth L. McCormick and Special Assistant United States Attorney Dwight K. Keller are representing the United States in this case.

Anyone who suspects they or a loved one is a victim of such a fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11, or go to the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative website for more information at www.Justice.gov/elderjustice.

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