On February 24, 2025, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee arrested Atlanta residents Jun Xiao and Zhen Jin Li for serving as money mules for an Indian refund scam where:
- The scammers will send fraudulent messages under the guise of Norton, falsely claiming their victim was charged $410 for a subscription they never signed up for.
- After calling the scammers, the victim will unknowingly give them remote access to their computers and be deceived into thinking they received a refund of $41,000.
- In order to return the fake overpayment, the victim will be asked to withdraw and deliver cash over to a designated money mule.
- The victim may be asked to make additional payments or have their phone activities monitored in real time by the scammers.
Xiao was arrested on a $150,000 bond and charged with:
- Conspiracy to commit theft of property
- Attempted theft of property
- Conspiracy to commit theft of services
Li was arrested on a $200,000 bond and charged with:
- Unlawful possession of a weapon (a H&K VP9 9mm handgun with 2 fully loaded magazines)
- Conspiracy to commit theft of property
- Possession of a weapon in the commission of a felony
- Attempted theft of property
- Conspiracy to commit theft of services
The two are due to appear in court on April 28, 2025.