E. Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California
Four Chinese nationals have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a scheme that defrauded U.S. retailers of at least $1.2 million by stealing identities from hundreds of consumers. The sentencing took place in Los Angeles, where United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson presided over the case.
The defendants used stolen personal information, including Social Security numbers and home addresses, to create fake driver's licenses. These were then used to access credit at major national retailers such as Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Williams-Sonoma, Dillard’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Kar Kee “Steven” Cheung received a 42-month sentence after pleading guilty to visa fraud and possession of equipment for making false identification documents. Qian Guo was sentenced to 33 months for similar charges. Chongming “Ming” Wang was given an 18-month sentence for conspiracy and aiding access device fraud. Jiaozhu “Yanny” Yan received a sentence of 12 months and one day for visa fraud.
Previously, Sizhen “Rachel” Liu was sentenced to 50 months in prison on related charges. Another co-conspirator, Hyun Woo “Scott” Jung, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
The investigation is being led by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. The DSS Los Angeles Field Office has established a tipline for confidential information regarding this scheme.
Assistant United States Attorney Kim Meyer prosecuted the case.
