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ICE Arrests Third Chinese National in 9 Months on Charges of Elder Fraud

The suspect was part of a group of individuals pretending to be U.S. Marshals in order to steal large sums of money.

Published: 7/15/2025, 2:51:46 PM EDT

ICE Arrests Third Chinese National in 9 Months on Charges of Elder Fraud — A view of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters in Washington on July 6, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent out a warning to New Yorkers after arresting an illegal alien fraudster.

ICE arrested a Chinese national named Jian Chen last week, the department announced Friday. He was arrested on charges of felony grand larceny in St. Lawrence County, New York. According to the release, this is the second arrest of a Chinese national for grand larceny in New York in the past three months, and the third in the past nine.

“This HSI Massena investigation underscores HSI’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and groups intent on exploiting our vulnerable communities," Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said in a statement. "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."

“Every day, we are unwaveringly committed to protecting our neighborhoods and individuals’ livelihoods.”

According to the release, Chen defrauded a 63-year-old retired woman of $42,000. Local news outlet WWNY added that Chen was part of a group of individuals pretending to be U.S. Marshals in order to steal large sums of money from them. He then sought an additional $98,000 from the woman and planned to meet her at some point in the future in the village of Potsdam.

WWNY reported that Chen was arrested in Brooklyn on July 7 by the New York Police Department and the HSI Massena office on a warrant out of St. Lawrence County. Chen was arraigned on charges of third-degree grand larceny in St. Lawrence County Court and released on his own recognizance; he was taken into ICE Custody shortly afterwards and is being held without bond pending removal proceedings.

“It takes a real dirtbag to prey on our most vulnerable community members by attempting to swindle them out of their hard-earned savings,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Deputy Field Office Director Joseph Freden said in the statement. “We remain committed to the arrest and removal of aliens who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our laws.”

HSI Massena previously arrested another Chinese national, Rihui Yan, on similar charges in May; according to the release, Yan attempted to defraud an elderly couple out of $20,000 in savings, and is wanted in neighboring Wyoming County for a similar crime.

ICE Buffalo made a third arrest in October courtesy of a tip from the Ticonderoga Police. Hui Chen was charged with grand larceny and conspiracy for attempting to defraud $40,000 from an elderly resident.

Both Yan and Chen are also in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Also in May, federal authorities in Rhode Island charged eight Chinese nationals with running a similar elder fraud scheme. According to charging documents cited in the press release, the co-conspirators sent pop-up messages to elderly people claiming that their financial accounts or computers had been compromised or targeted for criminal investigations. The scammers then communicated with the victims over the phone under the guise of acting as representatives for their financial institutions or government agencies; the scammers told the victims to initiate wire or cryptocurrency transfers, or to give cash or gold bullion to a courier who would take the funds to a safe location.

The group defrauded some 300 individuals in 37 states and was suspected of having taken over $5 million. Authorities found an account with more than $16 million in suspected fraudulent funds.