New York (BN24) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested several Chinese nationals accused of targeting elderly New Yorkers in a series of elaborate fraud schemes, including one suspect alleged to have stolen tens of thousands of dollars from a retiree.
Federal authorities said Jian Chen was taken into custody on July 8 after investigators determined he orchestrated a plan to swindle $42,000 from a 63-year-old woman in the village of Potsdam, near the Canadian border. Chen later tried to arrange another meeting to collect an additional $98,000, according to ICE officials.
“It takes a real dirtbag to prey on our most vulnerable community members by attempting to swindle them out of their hard-earned savings,” said Joseph Freden, deputy field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Buffalo.
In a separate case, agents arrested Rihui Yan in Massena. Authorities allege he attempted to defraud an elderly couple out of $20,000 and is also wanted in Wyoming County for a similar crime.
ICE officials said Hui Chen, another Chinese national, was arrested last October in Buffalo after the Ticonderoga Police Department alerted federal investigators to a suspected scheme to steal $40,000. Hui Chen now faces charges of grand larceny and conspiracy.
“We will never stand idly by while bad actors—in this case, illegally present Chinese nationals—target innocent New Yorkers for their own selfish gain,” said Erin Keegan, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Buffalo. “Every day, we are unwaveringly committed to protecting our neighborhoods and individuals’ livelihoods.”
The arrests come amid a broader push by federal authorities to detain and deport criminal non-citizens. Immigration officials said the suspects entered the country illegally, part of a surge of Chinese nationals who crossed the southern border and were released during the Biden administration.
Under President Donald Trump, ICE has intensified deportation efforts, prioritizing individuals accused of violent crimes and financial fraud. “We remain committed to the arrest and removal of aliens who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our laws,” Freden said.
nypost.com
