Chinese national pleads guilty in $65 million multinational fraud and money laundering ring targeting seniors

Date: April 2, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

San Diego - Ziyue Zhao, aka "Chris Zhao," pleaded guilty in federal court today and admitted he participated in a $65 million fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly victims across the United States, including in San Diego.

Zhao, a Chinese national, is the first defendant to plead guilty following a nationwide takedown in Aug. 2025 of 28 alleged members of a Chinese organized crime ring.

The defendants, who are charged in various related indictments, are accused of participating in a massive $65 million fraud scheme targeting thousands of seniors across the United States-including a 97-year-old San Diego widow of a Holocaust survivor who lost her entire life savings.

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.

Victims received unsolicited calls or emails directing them to call various phone numbers, which, unbeknownst to the victims, were for the India-based scam call centers. Once connected, the scammers used scripted lies and psychological manipulation to gain the victims' trust and often remote access to their computers. The most common scheme involved convincing victims they had received a mistaken refund and pressuring-or threatening-them to return the supposed excess funds via wire transfer, cash, or gift cards.

Victims sending cash were instructed to use overnight or express couriers, addressing packages to fake names tied to false IDs. These were sent to short-term rentals in the U.S. used by conspirators, including the indicted defendants, to collect the fraud proceeds.

In his plea agreement, Zhao admitted that to facilitate receipt of victim packages, members of the conspiracy, including Zhao, 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.

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 his plea agreement, Zhao admitted that he participated in the fraud between Feb. 2020 through March 2021. During that time, the organization received approximately 1,269 victim packages each containing an average of approximately $14,000, or an estimated $17,776,000 in victim losses during just that time period.

This multi-year fraud and money laundering investigation was led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of California and Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

A sentencing hearing for Ziyue Zhao is scheduled for June 23, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari.

Defendant (Case Number 25-cr-1765-TWR-07): Ziyue Zhao, aka "Chris Zhao", Flushing, NY

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

Investigating Agencies:

• Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation
• Homeland Security Investigations
• Federal Bureau of 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

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.