Two New Yorkers have been indicted for allegedly scamming elderly residents in Ohio.
Jinrong Shi, 28, of New York, and Jiyang Zhong, 27, a Chinese national residing in Little Neck, New York, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Ohio for allegedly being part of a criminal network that targeted the elderly with either a “grandparent” or “tech support” scam, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced on June 18.
Their alleged scam ran from May to June in 2024 and caused victims in Ohio to lose more than $201,000, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors explained that in a typical grandparent scam, criminals would often impersonate law enforcement officials or other authority figures to fool their elderly victims into believing that their grandchildren had violated the law. The victims would then be told they must provide immediate financial assistance to help get their loved ones out of legal trouble….