District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced the filing of felony charges against Yanwen Gu of Rosemead, CA, and Shaohua Sun of Monterey Park, CA. Gu and Sun have been charged with multiple felonies including conspiracy to commit grand theft and attempted grand theft for their alleged roles in an elder fraud scheme. Gu and Sun were arraigned on March 23, 2026, and pleaded not guilty.
On March 18, 2026, a local senior citizen received a text message instructing him to confirm an alleged $350 Apple Store purchase using his credit. This text message included a phone number directing the senior to call “immediately”. Once on the phone, an unidentified co-conspirator falsely claimed the elder victim’s local credit union account(s) were linked to supposed child sexual abuse content based in Canada. The elder victim was then directed to call a telephone number supposedly belonging to the “Ventura County Credit Union Fraud Department.” The caller, identifying herself as “Jade,” instructed the victim to immediately withdraw $25,000 in cash and meet a purported undercover police officer in the City of Ventura to surrender the funds as “evidence.” During this phone call, the elder victim was provided a “code phrase” to recite to the alleged undercover officer at the meeting prior to handing over the $25,000 in cash. Unfortunately, the elder victim complied and traveled to the meeting location where he was met by an unidentified co-conspirator who took $25,000 in cash after the elder victim provided the “code phrase.”
Shortly after this exchange on March 18, 2026, the elder victim and his spouse suspected they were defrauded and contacted the Ventura Police Department (VPD) to file a crime report. On March 19, 2026, while VPD detectives were interviewing the elder victim concerning the crime(s) that occurred the day prior, “Jade” contacted the elder victim again, this time requesting $50,000 in cash.
VPD detectives immediately coordinated a law enforcement operation wherein multiple phone calls with fraudsters, believed to be operating outside the United States, were monitored by police. Ultimately, a second meeting was scheduled with the fraudsters in the City of Ventura where they expected to receive $50,000 in cash from the elder victim by means of the same fraud scheme.
On March 19, 2026, defendant Gu allegedly approached the elder victim in the City of Ventura, accepted a “code phrase”, then took what she believed was $50,000 in cash.
Immediately after receiving these funds, Gu allegedly fled on foot but was taken into custody by police. Defendant Sun allegedly acted as a lookout for defendant Gu at the March 19, 2026, meeting and was also taken into custody by police immediately after co-defendant Gu took possession of the package supposedly containing $50,000 from the elder victim.
Gu and Sun are scheduled for an early disposition conference on April 2, 2026, at 1:30 pm in courtroom 12 of the Ventura County Superior Court. Both Gu and Sun are currently in custody on $500,000 bail. The court also granted a motion to examine any source of bail tendered on behalf of the defendants to ensure it did not come from alleged criminal proceeds.
This case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Dominic Kardum of the Fraud and Technology Crimes Unit. If you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of this fraud or a similar scam, please contact District Attorney Investigator Eric Jensen at (805) 662-1750.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office encourages the community to follow these tips provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to avoid becoming the victim of this type of scam:
• Be wary of unsolicited phone calls, texts, emails, or mailings directing one to act quickly, scan a QR code and or call a phone number listed on the solicitation.
• Recognize scam attempts and immediately end all communication(s) with the perpetrator.
• Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers often create a false sense of urgency to produce fear in their victim(s) and lure them into immediate action.
• Immediately call the police if you feel in danger or suspect potential fraud.
• Never give personal identifying information (PIN) over the phone, by text message, or email.
• Utilize current anti-virus software and malware protections on all electronic devices.