Four Chinese Nationals Sentenced to Federal Prison in Scheme Targeting Hundreds of U.S. Consumers and Multiple U.S. Retailers

LOS ANGELES – Four Chinese nationals were sentenced to federal prison today for their participation in a complex scheme that involved the theft of hundreds of identities to defraud multiple domestic retailers out of at least $1.2 million.

A fifth co-conspirator was previously sentenced to more than four years in prison, and a sixth is awaiting sentencing following a guilty plea.

As part of the scheme, these six defendants stole the victims’ identities – including their Social Security numbers, dates of birth and home addresses – and used that information to make fake driver’s licenses that were used to access credit in the victims’ names at large national retailers, including Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Williams-Sonoma, Dillard’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The four defendants, all Chinese nationals who entered the country under false pretenses, were sentenced today by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson. All four pleaded guilty on January 6. They are:

• Kar Kee “Steven” Cheung, 36, of Chino Hills, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of visa fraud, one count of possession of equipment used to manufacture false identification documents, and one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud;
• Qian Guo, 37, of Chino Hills, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for one count of possession of equipment used to manufacture false identification documents and one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud;
• Chongming “Ming” Wang, 28, of Temple City, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of aiding and abetting access device fraud in excess of $1,000; and
• Jiaozhu “Yanny” Yan, 30, of Alhambra, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for one count of visa fraud.

Previously in this case, Sizhen “Rachel” Liu, 35, also a Chinese national and a resident of Chino Hills, was sentenced on January 6 to 50 months in federal prison for one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of access device fraud in excess of $1,000.

The sixth defendant in the case, Hyun Woo “Scott” Jung, 30, of Ontario, pleaded guilty on February 10 to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of possession with intent to use unlawfully five or more false identification documents. Jung is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Wilson on May 5.

The ongoing investigation in this matter is being conducted by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. The DSS Los Angeles Field Office has created a tipline to solicit information confidentially from sources with information about this scheme. Security and loss prevention personnel from large national retailers, particularly those identified above, are encouraged to contact the DSS LA Retail Fraud Tipline if they have information about Los Angeles-area transactions closely matching this scheme. Suspects using fake driver’s licenses as part of this scheme may also be opening retail-branded credit accounts in the victims’ names.

During this investigation, DSS has received substantial assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI, with additional support coming from the Alhambra Police Department, the Arcadia Police Department, and the Bel Air, Maryland Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Kim Meyer of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.