YouTube scambaiters help dismantle $65 million multinational fraud ring targeting thousands of seniors

Date: August 27, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

SAN DIEGO — Twenty-eight alleged members of a Chinese organized crime ring are charged in four federal grand jury indictments with participating in a massive $65 million fraud scheme targeting thousands of seniors across the United States—including a 97-year-old San Diego widow of a Holocaust survivor who lost her entire life savings.

After a nationwide, weeklong takedown in California, New York, Texas and Michigan, 25 of the defendants have been arrested; all are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Federal agents from IRS-Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed more than a dozen search and seizure warrants this week. The searches resulted in the seizure of more than $4.2 million from financial accounts as well as several luxury vehicles, including a 2022 Mercedes-Benz G63, a 2024 Porsche Panamera, and a 2025 GMC Yukon Denali.

Operating since at least 2019 and rooted in Southern California, the criminal network—primarily composed of Chinese nationals, many in the U.S. illegally—worked closely with India-based scam call centers. Fraudsters who took the calls posed as technical support agents, government officials, or bank employees, according to court records.

Victims received unsolicited calls or emails directing them to call various phone numbers, which, unbeknownst to the victims, were for the India-based scam call centers. Once connected, the scammers used scripted lies and psychological manipulation to gain the victims’ trust and often remote access to their computers. The most common scheme involved convincing victims they had received a mistaken refund and pressuring—or threatening—them to return the supposed excess funds via wire transfer, cash, or gift cards.

Victims sending cash were instructed to use overnight or express couriers, addressing packages to fake names tied to false IDs. These were sent to short-term rentals in the U.S. used by conspirators, including the indicted defendants, to collect the fraud proceeds.

Notably, YouTuber Pierogi from “Scammer Payback”— which is known for exposing scammers—played a crucial role in documenting key evidence. In a series of videos, Pierogi from Scammer Payback teamed up with two other YouTubers from “Trilogy Media” to publish videos on their respective YouTube channels.

In coordinated sting operations, Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media baited fraudsters, confronted them on camera, and published those videos to their respective YouTube channels. Videos posted in 2020 and 2021 helped law enforcement identify Zhiyi Zhang, Dudu Chen and Huajian Chen. All three are named in the indictments. The videos also helped shed light on how the conspiracy operated and led to the identification of high-level members of the organization.

For example, Zhiyi Zhang, alleged to be a member of the conspiracy, used short-term rentals under the alias “Cream Pablo” and the fake name “Hans Bum” to receive victim packages. He and others were paid per package and frequently moved locations to evade law enforcement. Zhang alone is linked to at least $1.8 million in losses, according to the government’s memo arguing that Zhang should be detained.

That memo says that the YouTubers Scammer Payback (Pierogi) and Trilogy Media were conducting a sting to expose scammers by posing as victims. During one such operation, Pierogi was told by scammers to send a package of cash to an individual named “Hans Bum” at an address in South San Francisco.

Trilogy Media followed up by physically delivering a decoy package to the address and confronted the person receiving it, who turned out to be Zhiyi Zhang. Zhang revealed his real identity during the confrontation and admitted on camera to receiving packages for money—essentially outing his role in the scheme. The YouTubers passed the footage to law enforcement, who then verified Zhang’s identity using unblurred video, rental records, and other investigative efforts.

Zhang was arrested by federal agents on August 19, 2025, at Los Angeles International Airport.

“Not all heroes wear capes. Some have YouTube channels,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Our office will continue to be on the cutting edge of law enforcement techniques to ensure justice for vulnerable victims who have been defrauded by Chinese organized crime.”

“This investigation dismantled a predatory criminal organization that carried out a complex fraud scheme, manipulated victims throughout the country, and cost victims their hard-earned life savings” said Shawn Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego. “HSI, the United States Attorney’s Office, and our law enforcement partners diligently pursued this organization to bring them to justice and help the victims that were impacted. HSI is dedicated to protecting our communities and the people of the United States from organizations that prey on the vulnerable for financial gain.”

“This alleged Chinese organized crime ring laundered money for fraudulent Indian call centers who targeted our nation’s elderly citizens,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office. “These arrest and seizure warrants demonstrate that IRS-CI is committed to protecting our most vulnerable citizens, while also taking the profit out of crime.”

Episode 1 –

Scammer Payback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrLZbc-Rfbo

Trilogy Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in_Y5q_-F2Y

Episode 2 –

Scammer Payback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IEgFgO5pKo

Trilogy Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBZFmIKJINA

Episode 3 –

Scammer Payback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQuya3ELKGQ

Trilogy Media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCRoxVMmtDw

This multi-year fraud and money laundering investigation was led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A motion hearing/trial setting is scheduled in 25CR1097-TWR for August 29, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson. Motion hearing/trial setting hearings are scheduled for all other cases on September 19, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mokhtari.

DEFENDANTS

Case Number 25-cr-1097-TWR

• Hua Wang, Flushing, NY
• Weining Su, aka “Ning Ma”, Flushing, NY

Case Number 25-cr-1762-TWR

Hongsen Cao, Los Angeles, CA

Case Number 25-cr-1765-TWR

• Xiao Lei Xu, aka “Xiaolei Xu”, Flushing, NY
• Wen Chang Wang, Detroit, MI
• Jiawen Cai, aka “Johnny Cai”, Flushing, NY
• Xinyu Shao, Flushing, NY
• Zhuhan Yin, aka “Iron Yin”, Flushing, NY
• [Redacted]
• Ziyue Zhao, aka “Chris Zhao”, Flushing, NY
• Guangli Lin, Flushing, NY
• Wenzhi Chen, Austin, TX
• [Redacted]
• Jiaxin Wang, Flushing, NY
• [Redacted]
• Haotian Zhang, aka “Kevin Z”, Flushing, NY
• Dudu Chen, aka “Norris Chen”, In Custody
• Yuhui Sun, aka “Ian Sun”, Flushing, NY
• Jiaxin Jiang, aka “YiYi”, In Custody
• Dexiao Lin, aka “Prozac”, Flushing, NY
• Zhiyi Zhang, aka “Cream Pablo”, Los Angeles, CA
• Zhiwei Chen, Levittown, NY
• Bing Shen, Flushing, NY
• Zetian Zhang, Flushing, NY
• Huajian Chen, aka “Marco Chen”, Austin, TX
• Chongchong Li, Los Angeles, CA
• Jianhao Gao, aka “Gh Ghao”, Flushing, NY

Case Number 25-cr-2208-TW

• Cheng Li, In Custody

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Count 1 – Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud - Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 1349, 2326

Maximum penalty: Forty years in prison; a maximum $1 million fine

Count 2 – Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison; a maximum $500,000 fine or twice the amount of monetary instruments involved in the offense, whichever is greatest

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

• Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation
• Homeland Security Investigations
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
• San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center
• San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department (SBSD)
• San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
• Mountain View (CA) Police Department
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FLDE)
• Alachua County (FL) Sheriff’s Department
• Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force (LA IMPACT)
• Irvine (CA) Police Department
• La Verne (CA) Police Department
• Mesa (AZ) Police Department
• Sarpy County (NE) Sheriff’s Department
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service

*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.