Chinese nationals on student visas allegedly ripped off elderly Americans in nasty scheme

There has long been controversy over the provision of student visas to Chinese nationals, around 277,000 of whom studied in the U.S. last year.

For starters, this army of military-age individuals hails from an adversarial communist nation that has in recent years targeted the U.S. with cyber attacks, intimidation and coercion campaigns, deadly fentanyl, election interference, and threats.

Victims were allegedly instructed to tell inquiring bank tellers that 'home remodeling' was the reason for their massive bank withdrawals

In apparent service of China's goal of displacing the U.S. and becoming the global hegemon by 2049, Chinese students have also reportedly engaged in espionage, spy recruitment, bio-material smuggling, and intellectual theft on college campuses, which the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has emphasized constitute "soft targets."

It turns out some Chinese students may not be here to give Beijing a competitive edge but rather to rip off elderly Americans.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on Friday that eight Chinese nationals who secured student visas to attend college in America were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the indictment, the defendants — whose ages range from 24 to 35 and who were stationed in California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania — allegedly kicked off a wide-scale computer "pop-up" scam targeting elderly Americans, falsely claiming that their computers or bank accounts had been compromised.

RELATED: Vindicated? Patel's FBI uncovers apparent Chinese communist plot to rig 2020 mail-in vote for Biden

HUNG CHIN LIU via iStock / Getty Images

The "pop-up" would provide victims with a phone number to call. When the number was called, members of the conspiracy would allegedly inform victims they needed to move money out of their banks accounts in the interest of security. In some cases, victims were allegedly instructed to tell inquiring bank tellers that "home remodeling" was the reason for their massive bank withdrawals.

Chinese nationals involved in the conspiracy allegedly traveled to victims' homes disguised as federal law enforcement officers, then hustled large amounts of cash on the false pretense that the money would be protected.

The alleged fraudsters are believed to have defrauded over 50 victims across 19 states of over $10 million between August 2023 and late February 2024.

Conspiracy to commit wire fraud could land the supposed students up to 20 years in prison.

'Schemes like these cause significant emotional and financial harm to elderly victims across the country.'

"As outlined in the indictment, this criminal enterprise not only exploited elderly victims but did so by impersonating federal law enforcement — an egregious abuse of trust," Wayne Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office, said in a statement.

"We urge older Americans and their families to remain alert to these kinds of scams," continued Jacobs. "The FBI will never ask for money or payment of any kind."

The Federal Trade Commission underscored that legitimate tech companies "won't contact you by phone, email, or text message to tell you there's a problem with your computer," and "security pop-up warnings from real tech companies will never ask you to call a phone number or click on a link."

"These indictments highlight the relentless efforts of Homeland Security Investigations to safeguard our elderly population from complex fraud operations," said Special Agent in Charge Edward Owens of Homeland Security Investigations Philadelphia. "Schemes like these cause significant emotional and financial harm to elderly victims across the country."

John Gurganus, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, declined to comment when asked whether there was cause to suspect the scheme was state-backed and whether the DOJ believes similar conspiracies executed by foreign nationals on student visas were underway.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on May 28 — just weeks after a bombshell report about Chinese spies at Stanford University — that the State Department would work with the Department of Homeland Security to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."

President Donald Trump revealed two weeks later that the U.S. was dropping its plans to revoke Chinese student visas in exchange for the communist nation continuing the supply of necessary rare-earth minerals.

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