— By F. Scott Faulkner
VENTURA, CA — Two Los Angeles residents were arrested Friday, Feb. 14, in Ventura for allegedly defrauding an elderly
victim in a scam involving a hacked computer and fraudulent money transfer.
Wenjun Liu, 39, of Los Angeles, and 37-year-old Zhiyang Yan, were taken into custody in relation to the scam.
According to Ventura County Police Department’s Watch Commander, at 2:40 p.m. on February
13, Ventura Police officers responded to a “fraud-in-progress” report involving a victim whose
computer had been hacked.
The older victim had withdrawn a large sum of money after receiving fraudulent instructions related to a “Norton Virus” scam.
The Ventura Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit Detectives were notified and began an investigation.
On February 14, the suspects arranged for a courier to collect the money from the victim. At
11:30 a.m., two individuals arrived at the victim’s residence, and demanded an agreed-upon sum of cash.
Liu and Yan took possession of the money and were quickly detained by law enforcement.
Liu and Yan were taken into custody at the scene and transported to Ventura County Jail, where
they were charged with elder abuse, grand theft, theft by false pretenses, conspiracy and
possession of stolen property.
