5 Chinese nationals indicted in San Diego in alleged $27-million elder fraud scam

Five Chinese nationals living in California and Nevada allegedly conspired with India-based fraudsters to bilk more than 2,000 elderly Americans out of more than $27 million using an array of computer and phone scams, according to a federal indictment unsealed this week in San Diego.

The defendants — facing conspiracy charges involving wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering — allegedly made contact with the victims through pop-up ads, unsolicited emails and phone calls, according to the indictment. The victims then contacted phony call centers in India, where alleged co-conspirators posing as bankers, government officials or retailers would often influence the victims to install remote desktop software that gave the fraudsters access to the victims’ computers.

“After building trust with a victim based on fraudulent pretenses, the conspirators used technical support, government impersonation, bank impersonation and/or refund scams to induce victims to send money to other members of the conspiracy, including the five defendants charged in the indictment,” prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego said in a statement.

The victims sent the funds through wire transfers or express mail packages stuffed with cash to locations around Southern California and Nevada, according to the indictment. To add further legitimacy to the scheme, the scammers often had the victims send the money to real businesses, such as a CV...