FX fraud committed by 80 year old man discovered by Beijing Police

Rather unlike those who tread the conventional path of gainful employment with a view to it leading to a comfortable retirement at the age of 65, it appears that some FX fraudsters are reluctant to hang up their gloves.

A remarkable and perhaps somewhat worrisome example of this is today’s discovery by police in Beijing, China that an octogenarian gentleman has, along with his three female accomplices, conducted an illegal FX scheme involving more than HK $1 million.

The gentleman concerned, whose name has been divulged by Beijing Police as Zeng Liaomou, has been arrested today along with his accomplices, in connection with a scheme by which Zeng Liaomou approached victims in person by establishing his presence at the Guilin Plaze Hotel near Cedar Lake in Beijing, an asking them if there is a currency exchange in the vicinity. Whilst frequenting the area.

According to Beijing Police, by the end of June this year, Zeng Liaomou and his accomplices had moved on to soliciting clients by making appointments with them in order that they provide funds for investment.

On July 14, a potential client by the name of Ms. Zhou had engaged in a telephone conversation with Zeng Liaomou, in which he had offered to exchange HK $35,000 and HK $250,000, subsequently arranging an appointment including the time and place where the physical would take place. The next morning, Ms. Zhou and her husband went to a small restaurant, and met the elderly gentleman who had gained their trust, with a few bundles of cash in yuan. The elderly gentlemen then fled. Realizing that they had been cheated, the couple reported the activity to the police.

Guilin Xiufeng Public Security Bureau did not take this lightly, dispatching an elite police task force to immediately commence detective work, conducting a study on the four individuals as part of the foreign currency fraud investigation. Such in-depth case detective work unearthed a variety of situations and the police found that this particular fraud gang used cunning tactics, mainly due to their presence in Guilin having been more than two weeks prior to the police inquiry, during which it is likely that they conducted illicit activity, but did not leave any valuable clues.

Ms. Zhou recalled a specific detail, which she relayed to the police. In July, at the time when she met with the elderly man and his accomplices to exchange currency, they left in a yellow taxi. Investigators immediately commenced a further investigation, and soon located the yellow bicycle taxi and its driver. The taxi driver recalled the 4 suspects, and explained that he had dropped them off at a bus station. Investigators determined that the elderly suspect might have taken a shuttle to leave Guilin. Investigators immediately went to the bus station to view the surveillance video, and finally found the gang repeatedly displayed on the videos in various parts of Guilin. The day that the fraudsters embezzled funds from Ms. Zhau was the same day, according to the video, that they left to a different part of the country, and close inspection of the video provided clear pictures of the suspects.

Thus, the first branch of Interpol Battalion Xiufeng police immediately rushed to Liuzhou, where it was anticipated that the suspects were located. Upon arriving at Liuzhou, the investigation led the police to a small hostel, where investigators presented a recognizable image of the suspect to the waiter. The waiter immediately recognized the individuals.

At the same time, police responsible for investigating the chain of events which led to the various attempts to relieve citizens of their funds discovered that Zeng Liaomou, himself in excess of 80 years old, along with an 80- year-old woman surnamed Huang had embezzled over HK$250,000.

On August 11, police learned that the fraudsters had also been operating in Maoming City, Guangdong Province. In order to investigate further, the police went to Maoming City. Upon arrival, the police investigating the matter noted that Shenzhen police had already arrived in order to investigate the same individuals, due to the fraudsters having recently used the same means in Shenzhen, in order to successfully dupe one of the victimsout of approximately 460,000 yuan currency.

With the assistance of local police , police based at Maoming railway station arrested the all of the suspects with the exception of Mr. Liaomou. Meanwhile police have discovered the true identity of the elderly man who remains at large and are stepping up the search to bring him to book.

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