FBI on hunt for Chinese duo over US$2 million in illegal money transfers from China to US
- Wang Dianwei, 31, and “Ethan” Song Zhili, 36, are accused of running a California-based underground banking network to move funds from China
- The source of the money deposited in the US included romance scams targeting older victims
The FBI is searching for two Chinese citizens accused of running an illegal money transfer business in Southern California.
A federal indictment filed on Thursday charges Wang Dianwei, 31, and “Ethan” Song Zhili, 36, both formerly of West Covina, with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money sending business and obstruction of justice. Both men are also separately charged with witness tampering.
Wang’s and Song’s whereabouts are not known and they are considered fugitives, according to the US attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
The men allegedly ran an “informal value transfer system”, a kind of underground banking network that they used to move money from China to the US, prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, Wang and Song told their customers to make deposits into Chinese bank accounts the men controlled or had access to, and agreed to deposit the equivalent amount of US dollars, minus a fee, in American bank accounts set up by the customers.