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THE BLUEPRINT:
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Two suspects charged with $2.8M fraud tied to missing Long Island couple
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Victims last seen in March at their Old Brookville mansion
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Investigation into couple’s disappearance remains ongoing
- The defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court in Central Islip on Thursday
Two people were charged in federal court with allegedly stealing $2.8 million from a couple who have been reported missing, according to court documents unsealed in Central Islip on Monday. The couple was last seen in March at their mansion in Old Brookville.
Yinye Wang, also known as “Roy Wang,” with a residence in Roslyn and College Point, and Qiuju Wu of Flushing, face bank fraud charges for allegedly stealing the money from the missing couple.
Wang was arrested in California on Thursday and released on bond. Wu was arrested Thursday in Texas, and because she has no legal status in the United States, has been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an official said.
Attorney information for the defendants was not immediately available.
Authorities say the scheme involved submitting fraudulent documents to “Bank-1,” a multinational financial institution with branches throughout the Eastern District of New York, including two in Flushing just blocks apart.
The victims’ names are not specified in the documents, but align with the published reports regarding the disappearance of Peishuan Fan and JuanJuan Zwang. The victims were the sole signatories on their accounts, authorities said. But on June 29, Victim-1 was allegedly added to an account that Wu controlled, and the account was changed from an individual account to a joint account with rights of survivorship. Both Wu and Victim-1’s names, Social Security numbers and signatures appear on the new signature card, and the account address was updated to one associated with the victim, according to the complaint.
That same day, the Wu account held just $1,919.26 – but within two days, more than $1.3 million was allegedly transferred into it from Victim-1’s account. Also on July 1, $190,000 was allegedly moved from Wu’s account to another in the name of a company allegedly incorporated by Wu, and shortly afterward, Wu allegedly withdrew $700,000. Surveillance footage from Branch-1 shows Wu allegedly conducting the transaction.
In the ensuing days, more than $2 million was allegedly transferred out of the victims’ accounts. Surveillance footage from Branch-2 allegedly captured both Wang and Wu during the transaction.
Investigators allege that Wang is also tied to other identity-theft schemes, including accounts associated with Branch-1.
An investigation into the missing couple’s whereabouts is ongoing, according to published reports.
Wang and Wu are scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court in Central Islip on Thursday, at 1:30 p.m.
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Adina Genn
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