Queens DA warns of Chinese law enforcement impersonation scams

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has issued a warning to the Chinese community regarding a sophisticated extortion scam involving individuals impersonating Chinese police officers and prosecutors. Scammers reportedly use spoofed phone numbers and fraudulent documents to claim victims are under investigation for insurance fraud in China, threatening them with arrest or extradition to demand immediate payment.

In one recent case, a woman was allegedly defrauded of $350,000. The scammers used platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams to maintain contact and instructed the victim to lie to bank officials about the purpose of the transfers.

A 29-year-old Flushing resident, Bingming Zhang, was arrested in connection with the incident. He faces charges of criminal possession of stolen property in the second, third, and fourth degrees. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.