A Bayside woman was criminally charged with running a “pig butchering scam” on victims across the country and allegedly stealing more than $2 million from them, according to prosecutors.
Tiffany Wang, 35, of 200th Street, was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Criminal Court on a 27-count criminal complaint charging her with grand larceny in the first degree, criminal possession of stolen property and related crimes. These schemes, also known as Sha Zhu Pan, involve fraudsters who develop relationships with victims under false pretenses and then lure them into fake financial investments.
The FBI’s Internet Complaint Center registered approximately $6.57 billion in losses due to investment scams in the United States last year.
The term is based on the agricultural practice of fattening pigs before slaughter, symbolizing how scammers “fatten” their victims with false attention before exploiting them financially. The victims in this case were befriended online and then convinced to invest in fraudulent assets through fake websites, which often showed artificial gains to manipulate the victims into depositing more money. Eventually, the 17 victims lost access to their “accounts” as the funds were routed to accounts of multiple shell companies in Wang’s control, and the fraudulent websites were shut down.
“As alleged, the defendant was part of a scheme that gained the trust of victims across the United States and then lured them into a fraudulent investment opportunity and siphoned off their hard-earned money,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Pig butchering scams are organized, calculated and cruel.”
According to the charges and investigation, one of the victims began chatting with an individual named “Lily List” over Facebook Messenger in March 2023. After several days of chatting, the individual suggested switching the conversation to WhatsApp, which is end-to-end encrypted. Eventually, the individual posed a financial opportunity to the victim on a trading platform called Spread Ex, which is a legitimate financial and betting services company.
A short while later, the victim began wiring money from his personal accounts to what he believed to be his personal Spread Ex Ltd. account — depositing a total of $1,086,244 through 13 wire transfers between March 2023 and February 2024, according to the investigation. During this time period, the victim was able to log into the alleged website and view his “investments,” which appeared to be growing.
Eventually, the victim attempted to withdraw money from the account but was unable to do so. He eventually lost access to the Spread Ed Ltd. website before it was removed in its entirety, according to the charges.
The subsequent investigation surrounding the victim’s losses determined that one of the victim’s wire transfers was deposited into a JP Morgan Chase account linked to an address of 153-53 77th Ave., apartment 2B in Flushing. A record search revealed that at least 97 JP Morgan Chase customers, many purporting to be businesses, have used the same address as the listed address on the accounts. Some of the names on these accounts were Jian Ma Foot Spa 2 Inc., Chen Graceful Nails, Inc., Chen the Bronx Bar Inc., Chen New Funny Nail Inc., Chen I Love Spa Inc., Fend Thao Nail Inc., and others.
A further review showed multiple wire transfers into these accounts that were recalled or confirmed to be fraudulent by the sender. Investigators with the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Bureau identified an additional 16 victims who had wired money into the Chase accounts registered to apartment 2B from August 2023 through January 2024. Each victim stated that they had spoken to a female online who had promised them great investment opportunities. Following these conversations, each victim wired the money, believing that they were making successful financial decisions. A short while later, the victims tried unsuccessfully to withdraw their funds and eventually lost all access to their investment accounts, according to the investigation.
Deed records from the New York City Department of Finance indicated that the defendant was the registered owner of the condominium. An IP address used to log into the Chase account for Chen Graceful Nails Inc. was traced back to her house in Bayside.
On Oct. 2, members of the DA’s Detective Bureau and the NYPD executed a court-authorized search warrant at the location. Yang was observed inside and arrested for possession of an unloaded .45-caliber pistol. The search further uncovered numerous bank receipts, cashier checks, business checks and debit cards, as well as forged U.S. Visas and numerous Chinese and U.S. passports, all indicative of fraudulent activity. Yang was arrested again on Oct. 7 pursuant to the grand larceny charges.
“My office has a dedicated Cybercrime Unit to fight back against this large-scale financial fraud,” Katz said. “I urge anyone thinking of investing their money to be wary of people offering unsolicited financial advice online. Never share personal financial information with individuals you have not met in person and take the time to consult with a trusted friend, a loved one, or a federal or state regulatory authority.”
Queens Criminal Court Judge Maria T. Gonzalez remanded Yang into custody without bail on the 27-count complaint. She is due back in court on Nov. 13. If convicted of the top count, Yang faces a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
