YouTube vigilantes help feds bust $65M scam ring targeting seniors

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KSWB/KUSI) – A major international fraud ring responsible for the theft of more than $65 million from thousands of elderly Americans has been dismantled with help from an unexpected source: YouTubers.

Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced Wednesday that 28 alleged members of a Chinese organized crime group had been indicted for operating a far-reaching fraud and money laundering scheme. The group is accused of working with India-based scam call centers to prey on elderly victims across the United States, using fake tech support calls and psychological manipulation to trick them into handing over their money.

Members of the California-based crime ring are accused of posing as government agents, bank employees, or tech support representatives, according to court records. Scammers reportedly convinced victims they had mistakenly received refunds, then pressured them into returning the “extra” funds — via wire transfer, gift cards, or packages of cash.

Among the victims was a 97-year-old San Diego widow of a Holocaust survivor who lost her entire life savings to the scam, prosecutors explained.

Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation helped to dismantle the scheme and arrest dozens of people — mostly Chinese nationals — across California, New York, Texas, and Michigan. Over $4 million in assets were also seized from the group, including several luxury vehicles.

In an interesting twist, some of the most critical evidence came not from undercover agents, but from YouTube creators known for “scambaiting.”

Pierogi, the voice behind the YouTube channel Scammer Payback, as well as two YouTube creators from Trilogy Media, collaborated in a series of stings, baiting scammers and recording their interactions. Some of their videos from 2020 and 2021 also led directly to the identification of three defendants: 29-year-old Zhiyi Zhang, 31-year-old Dudu Chen, and 24-year-old Huajian Chen.

In one operation, scammers told Pierogi to send a cash package to a man named “Hans Bum” at an address in San Francisco. As explained by prosecutors, Trilogy Media followed up with a fake delivery and confronted a man who turned out to be Zhang, who was using short-term rental properties to receive shipments of cash from victims.

Links to the “scambaiting” videos from Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media can be found at the website for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

“Not all heroes wear capes. Some have YouTube channels,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Our office will continue to be on the cutting edge of law enforcement techniques to ensure justice for vulnerable victims who have been defrauded by Chinese organized crime.”

The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court in San Diego in the coming weeks.