Five men have been indicted for their connections with a nationwide fraud scheme that took funds from elderly victims and sent the money to bank accounts in China and Hong Kong.
Four of the five men appeared on the indictment, and three remain detained, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.
The indictment alleges that the men were part of a conspiracy to launder the proceeds from the fraud. The trial has been scheduled for Nov. 9.
“These scam groups operate like a business — some people convince the victims they must send money to ‘protect’ their money or repair their computer. Other schemers willingly take that money and launder it through bank accounts to the benefit of the entire conspiracy,” First U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd stated. “These five are the men who allegedly laundered those victim funds through some 21 different shell companies and 44 bank accounts. Charging them disrupts the network and is the first step in uncovering the rest of the conspiracy.”
Victims were tricked through tech support scams, government impersonation
Between October 2024 and March 2026, the men registered 21 different shell companies in Washington and used fake identities to open roughly 44 different bank accounts tied to the shell companies, according to the indictment.
The men also rented mailboxes at commercial entities tied to shell companies. By using tech support scams, or by impersonating government or bank officials, the scammers convinced victims to send cashier’s checks, money orders, or other monetary instruments to the rented mailboxes.
The five men indicted in western Washington then deposited the funds in 44 different bank accounts and then rapidly moved the money through wire transfers to accounts in the names of business entities based in Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China. In total, the defendants collectively received and laundered more than $7.4 million in fraud proceeds from at least 77 victims.
“In 2025 alone, elder fraud cost more than a million older Americans about $2 billion,” said Acting HSI Seattle Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “In this case alone, we estimate about $11 million may have been lost by our vulnerable seniors, and the associated money laundering impacts our country’s financial institutions.”
The five defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, ten counts of money laundering by concealment, and ten counts of money laundering by spending.
The men indicted include:
- Hung Chieh Kuo, 27, of Bellevue, WA, detained pending a hearing Aug. 31
- Tung Wei Yeh, 31, of Bellevue, WA, detained pending trial
- Hsin Chien, 31, of Bothell, WA, released pending trial
- You Wei Liew, 26, of Seattle, being sought by law enforcement
- Chengpeng Zhang, 40, of Seattle, detained pending a hearing Sept. 2
The DOJ noted that conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering concealment are punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount of property involved.
Money laundering by spending is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the value of the criminally derived property.
All charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and a person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This story was orginally published by MyNorthwest.com.
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