Asian-on-Asian crime

What began as a scam targeting elderly Asian women in San Francisco who believed themselves cursed by bad luck has unfolded into a possible nationwide organized crime ring, police have said. San Francisco officers have arrested five women who they believe targeted elderly Asian women and took advantage of their superstitions to bilk them out of a total of $850,000 in cash and valuables. The investigation led authorities to suspects who were involved in similar setups in New York, Boston and possibly Chicago. Police arrested the five women as they tried to board a plane for Hong Kong at San Francisco International Airport. In their luggage, authorities found about $50,000 in cash and jewelry, cell phones and foreign currency of unknown value. Twenty-five women - 13 of whom were over age 65 - reported being swindled over the past few months in San Francisco by three middle-aged, Cantonese-speaking Asian women who claimed that they could help them get rid of a curse or bad luck. The suspects would approach women who were alone on the street and tell them they had ghosts or a curse attached to them. The only way to remedy the situation, the women were told, was to collect their money and jewelry and give it to the thieves. One of the women would then place the valuables into a bag and perform a ritual over them. The con artists would tell their victims to place the bags under their beds for three days and that if they looked inside before then, the ritual wouldn't work, said police Cmdr. Mike Biel. When the victims finally looked inside, the bags were empty. Investigators estimate a total loss of about $850,000, Biel said. Huifei Lin, 42, Caiqiong Chen, 43, and Lirong Lin, 57, will be arraigned June 14, 2012 on charges of grand theft, extortion, robbery and defrauding an elder, the district attorney's office said. Two other women - Feiyan Wu, 45, and Qinying Ke, 47 - are being held on out-of-state warrants, police said. Investigators believe 15 to 20 people were fooled by similar scams in Boston and New York.