Some time ago, the news that a Chinese student was deceived into going to Thailand and was defrauded of more than one million caused an uproar. Some people are defrauded, some people defraud others, and there are quite a few of them, and one deception is hundreds of millions.
Recently, a Chinese couple in California was exposed to using the postal system to defraud $150 million. At present, the wife has been arrested, while her husband, Hu Chuanhua, has absconded back to China.
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Chinese couple defrauded $150 million
The arrested woman, Chen Lijuan, 51, pleaded guilty on April 26 to using fake postage to ship tens of millions of parcels and defraud the post office of more than $150 million.
It is reported that the two have been operating a parcel shipping company in Los Angeles Industrial City since November 2019, specializing in providing transportation services for Chinese logistics companies and delivering packages through the United States Postal Service.
In order to reduce the cost of postage, her husband, Hu Chuanhua, began to use counterfeit Netstamps stamps to create false postage, which could be purchased online from third-party vendors.
In November 2019, Hu realized that federal authorities were investigating, and decided to flee back to China, where he continued to manufacture counterfeit postage and evade inspections. Meanwhile, the wife stayed in the U.S. to manage the warehouse they used to deliver packages. Subsequently, the two began shipping items through the USPS in 2020 using counterfeit postage.
Between January 2020 and May 2023, the couple mailed more than 34 million packages containing fake postage shipping labels, according to court documents. When they receive a package from a Chinese supplier, they affix shipping labels that show postage paid, and these labels use the smart barcode from the previously mailed package to prove that the postage has been paid.
They then transfer the packages to the U.S. Postal Service so they can ship across the country, which saves costs.
In just 3 years, the two made $150 million through fraud and directly became rich and owned countless properties. The couple's properties are reported to be located in Walnut, Chino, Chino Hills, South El Monte, Diamond Bar and West Covina.
However, these ill-gotten property and bank accounts, among other ill-gotten gains, have now been confiscated.
According to Chen's plea agreement, she will have her bank account funds, insurance policies, and real estate confiscated. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces up to five years in prison on each count.
The wife was arrested, but the husband didn't know where to run, this is really the same forest bird, and they flew separately when the disaster came......
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Chinese students were defrauded of millions
After talking about deception, let's talk about being deceived.
We mentioned above that a Chinese student was deceived into Thailand and then defrauded of more than 1 million, what is going on?
The matter also started on April 15, when the girl was studying in Australia, when she suddenly cut off contact with her family and friends, not only did she not attend the exam, but she could not be found at home. Anxious family and friends can only post on social media for help.
On April 16, her parents called the police, and the police began an investigation.
On April 20, something strange happened, and her circle of friends permissions were suddenly adjusted to be visible for half a year. Does this mean that she is at least not in danger of her life?
Just when everyone was very anxious, the Australian police found out that she had been deceived and had been controlled by criminals, and she was in Thailand. Through the joint efforts of the Australian police and the Thai police, she was finally rescued in Thailand and recounted what happened.
Not long ago, a transnational fraud ring targeted her. They pretended to be multiple identities such as telecom operators, government agencies, and police officers, claiming that "she was suspected of illegal information causing others to commit suicide" and demanded that she pay a high ransom.
In order to "solve the matter as soon as possible", she immediately transferred 40,000 yuan to the other party. The second time, she wanted to transfer 500,000 yuan, but was intercepted by the bank.
In order to achieve their goal, the scammer stared at this "simple" girl, tricked her into signing a huge arrears bill of 8 million yuan, and asked her to report her whereabouts at least 5 times a day. Later, she was asked to go to Thailand, where they were guaranteed to help her solve the problem.
On April 13, she went to Thailand alone and took a taxi to the address provided by the scammer.
After that, she was taken under control, and a total of at least 1.47 million yuan in her account was transferred to strangers' accounts in batches. On April 18, scammers began to ask her to contact her parents, falsely claiming that she had been kidnapped and demanding a "ransom" of 8 million......
But fortunately, in the end, she was successfully rescued, and it can only be said that the girl is really not deeply involved in the world, and the family does have money, otherwise she would not be able to pay for more than 100 of them.
In fact, we've talked too many times about international students being scammed. Whenever we think that someone will be fooled, there will be new victims constantly emerging, which shows that everyone's vigilance is not high enough, and we need to be more vigilant.
Once again, we remind everyone to be vigilant when going out and not to trust the offers or requests of strangers. Be suspicious if someone offers a deal or opportunity that seems too favorable. Additionally, be cautious about strangers' messages and behaviors, especially when it comes to money transactions or personal information. The most important thing is to keep a clear head at all times and not let your guard down because of momentary interests. By being vigilant and cautious, we can better protect ourselves from becoming a victim of scams.