Southern California man arrested for defrauding elderly victims
A West Covina man made his first appearance in federal court Monday after he allegedly defrauded an elderly couple from Encino.
The U.S. Department of Justice says 48-year-old Tai Su used a cyberattack to scam the victims out of $25,000 before his arrest.
On April 23, the victims opened an email and clicked on a link launching malware that seized their computer and displayed a phone number that was purportedly Microsoft support.
The elderly couple called the number and spoke with a person who told them that they had been hacked and that the suspects had their banking information for their accounts with City National Bank.
According to the DOJ, the victims were told they were being transferred to a fraud and risk investigator with City National Bank, who told the elderly couple to withdraw $25,000 in cash and hand it over to federal agents who would meet them at their home.
Later in the day on April 23, two men pretending to be federal agents came to the victim’s home with a fake badge and collected the money.
The DOJ alleges that Su and his co-conspirators continued to contact the elderly couple over the following two days, and instructed them to take out another $10,000 from a specific City National Bank.
Federal authorities became aware of the scam on April 25 and planned a sting operation.
Homeland Security Investigators met with the victims on April 26 and instructed the elderly couple on what to say during a series of phone calls with the scammers, and they agreed to pay the suspects another $35,000.
Su and his team allegedly tried to persuade the victims to deposit the funds into a virtual wallet at a remote location. The victims instead agreed to have another “federal officer” pick up the funds from their home.
When Su arrived, he identified himself to the victims and proclaimed to be an employee of Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency platform.
Federal investigators arrested Su, who was carrying thousands of dollars in large denominations, according to court records.
Su is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and if convicted, faces a maximum of 20 years in a federal prison.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
