Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Three men accused of any elaborate gift card scam targeting older adults and other victims were found guilty Tuesday of one count each of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Bowen Hu, a 28-year-old Hacienda Heights man, Tiaran Shi, a 29-year-old Diamond Bar man, and Blade Bai, A 35-year-old El Monte man, schemed to launder the proceeds of the scams which involved Target gift cards to supposedly resolve various financial problems, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bai was charged with a second count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which he committed after being released after his initial arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors estimate that the trio of defendants laundered $2.5 million in Target gift cards from June 2019 to November 2020.

Telephone scammers overseas lied to their victims, claiming that purchasing the gift cards would fix nonexistent problems, such as arrest warrants, identity theft, tech support issues and compromised financial accounts.

The victims would buy one, or sometimes more, Target gift cards typically in increments of $500 and then were instructed to read the card numbers and access codes over the phone to the scammers, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

“Bai, Hu and Shi obtained more than 5,000 gift cards from a group of unknown persons in China that called itself the “Magic Lamp” and sold gift card information via the online messaging application WeChat,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a written statement.

WeChat was also used to coordinate the distribution of the gift cards to “runners” who then used the gift cards in Los Angeles and Orange counties to purchase electronics, other gift cards and more, working to conceal the fraud.

Within days of his initial arrest in November 2020, Bai was back in money laundering, again using Target gift cards.

“Bai offered to introduce an associate to someone who bought merchandise from him, and thereafter asked the associate to help him liquidate approximately $36,000 of Target gift cards. With Bai unwilling to be paid directly for the sale, two accomplices together arranged a deal in which they sold, to the customer, Bai’s gift cards for approximately 90 cents on the dollar,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a written statement. He was arrested February 2022 and has remained in custody ever since.

Hu and Shi were taken into custody immediately after their guilty verdicts.

A fourth co-conspirator, 60-year-old Yan Fu of Chino Hills, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in September 2022. He has also been ordered to pay $48,073 in restitution.

Bai, Hu and Shi will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each money laundering conspiracy count. They are scheduled to be sentenced January 26, 2024.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - Law enforcement and school authorities are extra vigilant Friday after students reported separate incidents of stalking.

A student of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District was reportedly grabbed by a man while walking to school around 8:30 a.m. September 14. The student was able to break free and notify school and Sheriff’s deputies, according to school officials.

The suspect, last seen near Hacienda Boulevard and Francisquito Avenue. He is a Latino man in his 40s, wearing a yellow shirt, blue hat and neck tattoo he drove a white van.

West Covina Unified officials said a similar incident occurred in their area where a student appeared to be followed near Hollenbeck and Hollencrest. Authorities searched for, but did not locate the white van that was seen.

“As this case undergoes investigation, HLPUSD school police, City of Industry deputies and the West Covina Police Department will be providing additional patrol officers in the surrounding areas,” according Alfonso Jiménez, superintendent of schools for the Hacienda La Puente School District.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A high school teacher employed in the Monrovia Unified School District was arrested Wednesday after an investigation into sexual contact with an underage female.

Chad Robert Miller, a 38-year-old Altadena resident, was arrested in Rancho Cucamonga and booked on suspicion of contact with a minor to commit a sex offense, sexual penetration of a minor and oral copulation of a minor, according to the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department.

Miller allegedly met with the 16-year-old girl on social media and corresponded with her over five months. He also allegedly met the girl and engaged in several illicit sex acts with her, according to the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department.

Miller is a teacher at Canyon Oaks Middle School and Mountain Park Independent Study School in Monrovia. The girl is not a Monrovia Unified student, according to Monrovia Unified authorities.

“The teacher was immediately placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation and is not allowed on a school campus at this time,” according to the Monrovia Unified School District in a written statement.

Investigators believe there are more victims. Anyone with information on this case is urged to call the Rancho Cucamonga Police Detective Bureau at 909-477-2893.

Miller is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail in the West Valley Detention. He is scheduled to appear in Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court September 8.