On Thursday, October 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a New York man admitted his part in a multistate scheme that defrauded elderly victims in the United States and Canada.
Xuehai Sun, 38, of Flushing, pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy on September 30, 2026. Sentencing is set for January 6, 2027. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and the judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors in determining the sentence.
According to court documents, members of the conspiracy targeted seniors by sending pop-up messages to their computers. The messages were made to look like they came from legitimate technology companies. They falsely warned recipients that their computers had been hacked, their bank accounts were compromised, or they were under investigation.
Victims were told to call a “live agent,” who claimed to be able to protect their finances. Over a series of calls, they were passed to other conspirators posing as representatives of financial institutions or government agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Bank.
The victims were then persuaded to send money and other assets to accounts said to be controlled by government agencies. Some used wire transfers or cryptocurrency, while others withdrew cash to buy gold bars. In reality, the money went to people involved in the scheme.
At his change of plea hearing, Sun admitted that he employed couriers to collect cash and gold from victims. Other co-conspirators supplied him with the victims’ names and information. He acknowledged dispatching the couriers to make pickups, knowing the funds and gold had been obtained through fraudulent and false statements.
Sun also admitted communicating with co-conspirators about several aspects of the operation. These included coordinating and dispatching couriers, transporting the gold and cash to members of the conspiracy, the amounts owed to those members, and the conversion of gold into cash.
Law enforcement has identified roughly 300 victims of the group in at least 37 states, including Rhode Island. Known losses exceed $5 million. Investigators have also traced an additional $16 million in suspected fraud proceeds that were laundered through a related account.
Sun was arrested in New York and first appeared in the Eastern District of New York. He was later transferred to the District of Rhode Island, where he is being prosecuted.
Source: DOJ
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