A Northern California man was charged on Wednesday with stealing $20,000 from an elderly man as part of an alleged computer fraud scam, according to prosecutors.
In a news release, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said that Ze Li, 35, of Fremont in Alameda County, was charged with one felony count each of grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, attempted grand theft, attempted theft from an elder or dependent adult and two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime.
Prosecutors also noted that Li faces special allegations that the victim was particularly vulnerable and that the “manner in which the crimes were carried out indicates planning, sophistication, or professionalism.”
During a court appearance on Monday, Li pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Phillip Hammond, the victim in this case, spoke to CBS LA to warn others about the scam.
“You hear of it happening, but you don’t expect it to happen to me,” Hammond said.
Hammond said he was on the computer with his wife when a notification popped up, telling them to call Microsoft. After calling the number on the pop-up, they were told that someone made a $25,000 charge to his Ventura County Credit Union account to purchase child pornography in China.
“After calling the number, the victim was transferred through several unidentified individuals before speaking with a person identifying himself as ‘Damian Myers,'” the release said.
Prosecutors said that Myers told Hammond that the transaction was stopped, but he would need to withdraw the same amount in cash to protect his funds. He followed the instructions, withdrawing $20,000 from two credit union branches and purchasing an additional $5,000 in gift cards.
“The scammers typically will create a sense of urgency,” said Dominic Kardum, a senior deputy district attorney. “They will give the elderly victim stories to tell the bank teller with respect to why they’ve withdrawn such large amounts of cash.”
Hammond said the scammers told him not to give any information to the tellers because a bank employee may have been leaking data. Prosecutors said the scammers coached Hammond on how to get around all of the fraud protections.
“They’re very savvy,” Kardum said. “They’re very sophisticated, and they’re very persistent.”
Myers told Hammond to bring the $20,000 in cash to a secure location where he would meet a “Federal Trade Commission representative” who would collect the money. Prosecutors said Li, posing as an FTC representative, picked up the cash.
When the scammers contacted Hammond again, he realized something was wrong and called law enforcement.
“In a majority of cases, once the money is gone, it’s very difficult to recover because it’s converted into different forms,” Hammond said. “They let us realize that this happens all the time.”
The next day, Ventura Police Department detectives with the Street Crimes Unit, along with investigators from the DA’s Office, set up a sting operation and tricked Li into thinking that he was picking up another $20,000 for Hammond. Officers arrested Li when he arrived to collect the money.
Prosecutors believe Li was a courier for scammers “who target elderly residents through computer scams.”
Li is due back in court on September 4 for a bail review hearing. He currently remains behind bars in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Hammond and his wife said that while their story may sound embarrassing, they know it happens more than people are willing to admit.
“Just have some wisdom, these guys are out there,” Hammond said. “This is one way they get ahold of us.”
Prosecutors urged everyone, especially seniors and their families, to watch for the warning signs of common computer scams:
- Urgency: “You must act right now!”
- Secrecy: “Don’t tell anyone!”
- Fear: Threats that you will be arrested, sued, or lose your money if you do not comply.
- Unusual payment methods: Requests for gift cards, cryptocurrency, gold, wire transfers, or cash pickups.
- Isolation: Instructions not to contact your bank, family members, or law enforcement.
Law enforcement encouraged anyone who may have been victimized in a similar scam to report it to their local police department or District Attorney investigator Eric Jensen at (805) 662-1750.
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