On March 5, 2026, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Lithia, Florida arrested 40-year-old Chinese-born Canadian national Min Chen for serving as a money mule for an unspecified refund scam operation, where:
- The scammers will send fraudulent emails and gain remote access to their victims’ computer and trick the victim into thinking they got a refund of $50,000
- The victim will be asked to withdraw $24,000 from their bank account and hand it off to a designated courier, or money mule.
- Once the money is received, the scammers will demand an additional $25,000.
Chen was arrested after attempting to collect the money from an 81-year-old woman, and has since been charged with
- Organized fraud of a person 65 years of age or older
- Theft from persons 65 years of age or older
- Unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
And as Chen had entered the country illegally as a Canadian citizen originally from China, I hope he enjoys GAUTMO!