Impersonators Nabbed After Stealing Cards, Withdrawing $2 Million

A fraud ring that impersonated court officials to steal bank cards and withdraw nearly $2 million has been brought to justice, with six members receiving prison sentences. The scheme targeted a man in the Taoyuan and Miaoli regions, where perpetrators posed as household registration office employees, police, and prosecutors.

The scammers falsely claimed the victim's identity had been compromised in a criminal case. They convinced the man, identified as Ding, to hand over six ATM cards from his and his wife's accounts at Taiwan Bank, Chunghwa Post, Standard Chartered, and CTBC Bank. The cards were given to a man posing as a clerk from the Miaoli District Court, identified as Dai, who is being tried in a separate case.

Following the acquisition of the cards, six individuals, including Lai, Liu, Xie, Liang, Ye, and Lin, acted as "money mules." They systematically withdrew close to $2 million from ATMs in various convenience stores across different administrative regions within a few days. The court found that the group employed persistent psychological manipulation and threats to coerce the victim.

The Miaoli District Court recently sentenced Lai and his accomplices to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 3 months to 1 year and 10 months for collective fraud. Lai received the longest sentence of 1 year and 10 months, along with a fine of $30,000 New Taiwan Dollars. While the defendants confessed to their crimes during the trial, and Xie, Ye, and Liang voluntarily returned some of the illicit gains, no settlement has been reached with the victim.