Yanwen Gu and Shaohua Sun charged in connection with elder fraud scheme
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Yanwen Gu and Shaohua Sun have been charged with multiple felonies connected to an elder fraud scheme.
On March 23, Gu and Sun were arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit grand theft and unlawfully attempting to commit grand theft as well as the special allegation that the alleged crime indicates planning, sophistication, and professionalism.
Both pleaded not guilty to all charged counts.
On March 18, 2026, a local senior citizen received a text message asking him to confirm a $350 Apple Store purchase and the text included a phone number directing him to call immediately stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The man called the provided phone number and an unidentified co-conspirator claimed that the man's account at a local credit union was linked to child sexual abuse content based in Canada detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the victim was told to call another phone number for the "Ventura County Credit Union Fraud Department" and a person who called themselves "Jade" on the line told the elderly man to immediately withdraw $25,000 in cash, meet an undercover officer in Ventura, and give up the money as "evidence".
During the phone call, the elderly victim was provided a "code phrase" to share with the alleged undercover officer at the meeting location before handing over the cash noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The man followed the directions and met an unidentified co-conspirator who accepted and left with the $25,000 after the elderly man said the code phrase explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The man and his spouse suspected they were victims of a crime and contacted the Ventura Police Department stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On March 19, while detectives were interviewing the elderly man, "Jade" called back and asked for an additional $50,000 in cash shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Detectives then monitored multiple calls with the fraudsters, who are believed to have been operating outside of the United States, and arranged to meet the perpetrators in Ventura for the next payment request explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
On March 19, Gu allegedly approached the elderly victim, accepted the code phrase, took possession of what she believed was $50,000 in cash, and promptly fled the scene on foot detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
She was taken into custody by police and Sun, who was allegedly acting as a lookout during the meeting, was also taken into custody shortly after the package exchange shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The duo remain in custody with bail set at $500,000 and are next due in court for an early disposition conference on April 2 of this year noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of this or similar type of fraud, you are asked to contact District Attorney Investigator Eric Jensen at 805-662-1750.
