In September, officers responded to a report of a financial scam involving a so-called computer virus. The scam tricked the victim into paying large sums to a fraudulent tech support setup. Investigators identified Qingyun Chen, a 30-year-old woman from San Leandro, as allegedly connected to these incidents.
An extensive investigation following the incident led officials through the digital forensics expertise of the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force (NC3TF) and with collaborative efforts from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. Yesterday, these teams executed search warrants at two homes in San Leandro. The MCSO revealed that multiple financial scams throughout the Bay Area have tentatively been linked back to Chen.
During the sting operation, authorities seized a substantial amount of U.S. currency and several items considered to be evidence in the perpetration of Chen's alleged crimes. According to the Marin County Sheriff's Office, the scale of the fraudulent activities Chen was allegedly part of led to her bail being set at $2.5 million. She has been booked on charges of grand theft and theft/embezzlement of an elder adult.
