Two Los Angeles County residents face felony charges for allegedly attempting to scam an elderly Ventura County man out of $75,000.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said that 40-year-old Yanwen Gu of Rosemead, and 39-year-old Shaohua Sun of Monterey Park, initially tricked the senior citizen into giving them $25,000 in cash on March 18.

“A local senior citizen received a text message instructing him to confirm an alleged $350 Apple Store purchase using his credit,” the Ventura County DA’s office said in a news release. “This text message included a phone number directing the senior to call ‘immediately.’”

When the victim called the number, the person on the phone lied, saying that the victim’s bank account was used to purchase child pornography in Canada, the DA’s office said. The victim was then told to call another number for the “Ventura County Credit Union Fraud Department.”

“The caller, identifying herself as ‘Jade,’ instructed the victim to immediately withdraw $25,000 in cash and meet a purported undercover police officer in the City of Ventura to surrender the funds as ‘evidence,’” the DA’s office said. “During this phone call, the elder victim was provided a ‘code phrase’ to recite to the alleged undercover officer at the meeting prior to handing over the $25,000 in cash.”

The man met with a co-conspirator in the case and allegedly provided the “code word” before handing over $25,000. After the exchange, the victim became suspicious of the interaction and contacted the Ventura Police Department. The next day, the victim was being interviewed by police when a suspect scammer contacted him again by phone, this time demanding $50,000 in cash.

“VPD detectives immediately coordinated a law enforcement operation wherein multiple phone calls with fraudsters, believed to be operating outside the United States, were monitored by police,” the DA’s office said. “Ultimately, a second meeting was scheduled with the fraudsters in the City of Ventura where they expected to receive $50,000 in cash from the elder victim by means of the same fraud scheme.”

On March 19, Gu approached the victim in Ventura, expecting him to provide another “code phrase” and hand over $50,000. Immediately after Gu accepted what she thought was $50,000, police moved in and arrested her, the DA’s office said.  Sun was allegedly acting as her lookout and he was also arrested during the sting.

Gu and Sun were charged with multiple felonies, including conspiracy to commit grand theft and attempted grand theft for their alleged involvement in the elder-fraud scheme. Gu and Sun were arraigned on March 23. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Gu and Sun remain in custody on $500,000 bail. The court has granted a motion to examine any source of bail money provided by the defendants to ensure that the funds are not from any of their alleged victims.

Be wary of unsolicited phone calls, texts, emails, or mailings directing one to act quickly, scan a QR code and or call a phone number listed on the solicitation.

Recognize scam attempts and immediately end all communication(s) with the perpetrator.

Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers often create a false sense of urgency to produce fear in their victim(s) and lure them into immediate action.

Immediately call the police if you feel in danger or suspect potential fraud.

Never give personal identifying information (PIN) over the phone, by text message, or email.

Utilize current anti-virus software and malware protections on all electronic devices.

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