Two days after Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced she had brought charges against a Flushing man for scamming more than $600,000 from seniors across the country, her office hosted a presentation at the Ridgewood Older Adult Center on Mar. 12 to coach participants on how they can avoid being victims of similar schemes.
“Education is key to preventing fraudulent activity, particularly among the senior population,” Katz said. “To this end, my office has been actively engaging with senior centers across the borough, providing insights on the warning signs of common scams.”
Fei Liang, 39, of 45th Avenue in Flushing is accused of working with a co-conspirator who called seniors and claimed to be from the Social Security Administration, their bank or a vendor. He told them their accounts had been compromised and instructed the seniors to wire money to accounts he controlled in banks in Bayside and Flushing for “safekeeping.” Six victims lost nearly $630,000 before he could be stopped.
“We will continue to make education an important part of our overall efforts to combat fraud in the community,” Katz said.