Man forced to cancel wedding after parents conned out of $1M in crypto scam
A man has been forced to cancel his wedding after his two elderly parents were conned out of their entire life savings in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam.
Eric Jiang's parents, dad Amos, 78, and mum Yan, 73, lost over $1million (£790,000) and are now facing the loss of their home in Connecticut.
In a fundraiser set up to try and help support his parents, Eric wrote: "My parents were immigrants from and came to the US in the 80s with nothing. They worked multiple jobs for decades just to be able to afford a home and provide a life for me. Now in retirement, with nothing and facing the imminent loss of their home, they are in trouble. At this point, all relevant banks, local, state, and federal law enforcement are aware of the scammers and are doing all they can to help recover even some of the money, but the outlook is extremely bleak."
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Eric speaking to CBS about the scam (CBS)The loving parents were hoping to help pay for Eric's upcoming wedding and even buy him and his fiancée a house which is how they ended up getting scammed. Amos got a message out of the blue from someone calling themselves Lin. Although Lin apologised for texting the wrong number, they kept messaging, forming a months-long friendship with Lin and asking for advice about immigrating to the US from China.
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Eventually 'Lin' convinced Amos to send over more than $1million in a series of fake crypto-investments through a fake trading platform.
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Eric with his parents when he graduated (CBS)Woodridge Police Department informed the Jiangs of the scam after investigators in Georgia called them about an investigation there. A victim in Georgia led a detective to bank records showing "large deposits from victims in the greater NYC area."
Det. Michelle Taylor, of Peachtree City, Georgia, contacted the FBI after tracing the scammer's bank account back to Hong Kong. She said "Probably over two dozen victims in about 12 different states." She added: "With countries that don't always cooperate with extradition and cooperation with investigations, it's usually a dead-end for us as local jurisdictions."
Amos and Yan have lost their life savings (CBS)That bank account later closed, but the website Amos used for the phoney investments is still up and the CBS New York Investigative Team found ten other sites with the same design and layout encouraging people to sign up. Some even use legitimate company names like Wells Fargo.
Det Taylor added: "Wiring people who you don't know money is very dangerous. It's like taking the money out of your wallet and leaving it on the ground. Once you leave it, it's gone. There's very little way to claim that back."
Amos and Yan when they were younger (CBS)Eric is trying everything he can do to help his parents. He wrote in the fundraiser: "My fiancée and I are unfortunately not in a position where we are able to help save their home. I took a financial hit this past week as well, shutting down my business that I had worked on for the last 4 years. My fiancée and I were planning on getting married next year (everything is already booked), but we are now cancelling our wedding and any plans we have in the future to help support them."
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