The last two of 25 defendants in a $65 million fraud ring have pleaded guilty, closing out the plea phase of a case built on phone calls to elderly victims. Prosecutors say the network took cash that victims were talked into withdrawing and sending by mail, then laundered it. The case shows how a large operation reaches individual households.
The pleas came from Haotian Zhang and Zetian Zhang, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Sentencing for the group is spread across several months.
The question for anyone who gets unexpected calls from a “bank,” a “government official” or a “tech support agent” is how rings this big find people, and what keeps a household off their list. The case file points to the method, and the method points to the defenses.
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Two more guilty pleas close out the 25
The U.S. Attorney’s Office release dated October 26, 2026 says Haotian Zhang and Zetian Zhang pleaded guilty on Friday, the last of 25 defendants in the $65 million scheme. Haotian Zhang, a Chinese national, was remanded into custody by U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson, and both are set for sentencing on January 29, 2027.
The charges are conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum of 40 years in prison, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, which carries a maximum of 20 years. Two other defendants, Huajian Chen and Jianhao Gao, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The same release says three charged defendants remain fugitives, even as it calls the latest plea the last of the 25. Earlier pleas came from eight other named defendants, and two have already been sentenced, to 70 and 78 months.
How the ring reached thousands of elderly victims
According to the release, the scheme targeted thousands of elderly victims in San Diego and elsewhere and had operated since at least 2019. The network was rooted in Southern California and worked closely with scam call centers in India.
Callers posed as technical support agents, government officials or bank employees. Victims were told to withdraw bulk cash, hide it in packages and send it by express mail to fictitious recipient names tied to fake IDs.
Packages went to short-term rentals booked in what prosecutors call a hub-and-spoke pattern, with one rental held for about a week and nearby ones for shorter stays. Members then moved on and repeated the pattern, which kept any single address from drawing attention for long.
A single package started the investigation
The investigation began in December 2020, when an elderly victim contacted an express mail carrier. That contact led to 11 packages holding about $135,000 in cash, all addressed to fake names at San Diego-area rentals.
The release also credits online video creators from Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media, whose sting videos from 2020 and 2021 helped investigators identify members and understand how the conspiracy was organized. Zhiyi Zhang and Huajian Chen admitted in plea agreements to appearing in those videos.
Defendants were arrested in August 2025 during a weeklong takedown across California, New York, Texas and Michigan, and the release names HSI, the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service among the investigators. The release does not mention forfeiture or restitution.
What the method says about the defenses
Every step of the scheme ran through something a household controls: a phone call, a bank withdrawal and a package. The defenses that matter most are the ones that stop a stranger from using a name, an account or a credit file.
The Federal Trade Commission’s credit freeze guidance says there is no cost to place or lift a freeze, that it is placed by contacting Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and that it lasts until the consumer lifts it. A freeze blocks new accounts opened in a victim’s name, though it does not stop a victim from sending cash personally.
The Social Security Administration’s inspector general adds a rule that applies to this scheme’s cash-by-mail pitch. Its scam alert says neither law enforcement nor the Social Security Administration will demand immediate payment by barcode or QR code, and advises hanging up and calling the agency back on a number from its official website.
What stays the same when the ring changes
Rings of this size change their scripts. The bank employee becomes a government official, the cash becomes a code, and the package becomes a transfer. The pressure to move money quickly and keep it secret does not change.
Law enforcement cases often arrive years after the calls. In this one, the first lead came in December 2020 and the pleas completed in October 2026, which leaves a long period when the same network was still working.
How do rings this big reach people, and how can one household stay off their list?
The San Diego ring worked by getting elderly victims to withdraw cash and mail it, using callers posing as bank staff, officials and tech support. A household without frozen credit, locked logins and an agreed family code word has nothing standing between a convincing voice and the account.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
