United States Attorney David Metcalf announced the arrest and indictment of three residents from Queens, New York. Fanchao Zeng, 33, Zhongzhou Lin, 26, and Yanping Li, 32, face charges related to a scheme involving bank fraud and identity theft.
The indictment accuses the defendants of using stolen bank account information and fraudulent driver’s licenses to access home equity lines of credit (HELOC) belonging to bank customers. They allegedly transferred funds from these HELOCs to accounts they controlled and subsequently withdrew the money.
According to the indictment, Zeng and Lin identified customers with HELOCs. Alongside Li, they submitted fraudulent change of address requests for these customers via the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s website. This allowed them to obtain replacement driver’s licenses mailed to addresses accessible by the conspirators.
Further steps involved preparing HELOC funds for theft through various methods. These included online transfers to linked accounts or creating fake business accounts in the names of legitimate account holders. Transfers were also made via phone requests or in-person at bank branches.
The defendants are accused of traveling to bank branches with individuals matching the ethnicity of account holders (“runners”) who used fake driver’s licenses to withdraw funds. Li was reportedly involved in such activities multiple times.
Proceeds from these withdrawals were often cashed at casinos where they were gambled away as a means to conceal the fraud.
If convicted, Zeng could face up to 131 years in prison along with fines totaling $5 million. Lin faces a potential sentence of 159 years and fines amounting to $5.75 million if found guilty. Li’s maximum possible sentence is 101 years with fines reaching $4.25 million.
The FBI conducted the investigation, while Assistant United States Attorney Eric D. Gill is prosecuting the case.
It is important to note that charges in an indictment are accusations only; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
