Chinese National Xiangbo Sun Arrested in Michigan Sting; Elderly Woman Lost Nearly $500,000 in Nationwide Scheme
The Allegan County Sheriff's Office in Michigan says Xiangbo Sun, 24, a Chinese national who has been in the United States on a tourist visa since May, took part in a fraud network that took more than $1 million from victims across the country - including nearly $500,000 from one elderly Michigan woman over about two months. Details of the wider investigation became public on October 12, according to WWMT.
Deputies say the woman was contacted in May by someone claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission who told her that her identity had been stolen and that her children's identities would be next if she did not act. The caller knew specific details about her and her family, which convinced her the call was genuine. She withdrew money from her retirement and savings accounts, and on two occasions couriers came to her home and collected a total of $237,000 in gold coins, which she was told would stop the identity theft and be returned with interest.
The woman contacted the sheriff's office on June 17 and told deputies the scammers were scheduled to return the next day for $60,000 in cash. Detectives from Allegan and Kent counties waited inside her home while a drone watched from above. The courier who arrived produced a dollar bill whose serial number matched a code the scammers had given her in advance; after she handed over the $60,000, detectives arrested Sun. Deputies say a rideshare driver had brought him from Chicago's O'Hare Airport and was to take him on to Grand Rapids' airport, and that phone records link him to similar cash and gold pickups across the country since late May totaling over $1 million. Two other states have issued warrants for him, and he is charged in Allegan County with larceny by false pretenses. The sheriff's office notes the case involves allegations; Sun has not been convicted.
(Compiled from WWMT and other outlets, October 12)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：孙祥波登记照，由阿勒根县警长办公室（Allegan County Sheriff's Office）发布
