Queens man sounds alarm after parents lost over $1 million in crypto scam
NEW YORK -- A Queens man is sounding the alarm after his parents lost more than $1 million in a crypto scam.
They're now in danger of losing their Connecticut home, and now Tim McNicholas and the CBS New York Investigative Team are finding evidence of a wider fraud ring.
Eric Jiang's phone is filled with photos of milestones with his parents, from graduations to award ceremonies, and Jiang's dad, Amos, wanted to help him with the next big milestones.
"He wanted to help my fiancée and I pay for our wedding, which was booked for next year, and he wanted to surprise us with a house," Jiang said.
His father thought he'd found a chance to do that after he got messages from someone who called themself Lin.
At first, Lin apologized for texting the wrong number, but Jiang says they kept texting, forging a months-long friendship and asking for advice about immigrating to the United States from China.
Lin eventually convinced Jiang's father to send over more than $1 million for a series of supposed crypto investments through a fake trading platform.
"And you worked so hard for that money over the years," McNicholas said.
"It's my entire savings, entire life's savings," Amos Jiang said.
"I especially feel terrible for my parents because I know how hard they worked. Growing up, we didn't have a lot. We made a lot of sacrifices and they gave me all the opportunities," Eric Jiang said.
A report from the Woodridge Police Department says they informed the Jiangs of the scam after a Georgia detective called them about an investigation there.
A victim in Georgia led that detective to bank records showing "large deposits from victims in the greater NYC area."
"Probably over two dozen victims in about 12 different states," said Det. Michelle Taylor, of Peachtree City, Georgia.
Taylor says she contacted the FBI after tracing the scammer's bank account back to Hong Kong.
"With countries that don't always cooperate with extradition and cooperation with investigations, it's usually a dead-end for us as local jurisdictions," she said.
That bank account is closed, but the website Eric Jiang's father used for the phony investments is still there, encouraging people to sign up.
The CBS New York Investigative Team copied and pasted language from the site into a search engine and found 10 other sites with the same design and layout. Some of them even use a legitimate company's name or logo, like Wells Fargo or Trust Wallet, who confirmed to CBS New York the site is fake.
"Wiring people who you don't know money is very dangerous. It's like taking the money out of your wallet and leaving it on the ground. Once you leave it, it's gone. There's very little way to claim that back," Taylor said.
"So this person basically took advantage of your father's good nature," McNicholas said to Eric Jiang.
"Absolutely," Jiang said.
Jiang and his fiancée made the tough decision to call off their wedding for now as they try to raise money for something more important.
"My parents are still in danger of losing their home, and at their age, a move is extremely stressful," Eric Jiang said.
McNicholas asked Taylor for any advice for protection from scams like this. Her reply? Don't answer calls or texts from numbers you don't know.
Eric Jiang has set up a GoFundMe for his parents.