A 30-year-old Saipan woman who went by the name "Yuki" is headed to federal prison after admitting she swindled victims through a Bitcoin-themed affinity scam, prosecutors said.
On April 23, 2026, Sze Man Yu Inos was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud. The court also ordered her to pay $769,355.67 in restitution and entered a criminal forfeiture personal money judgment of $684,848.34. Inos was further sentenced to three years of supervised release and 100 hours of community service.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona handed down the sentence in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Districts of Guam & the Northern Mariana Islands. The office said the FBI investigated the case and that prosecutors pursued a money judgment designed to help return proceeds to victims.
How the scheme worked
According to local reporting and court filings, Inos spent months cultivating relationships with older women on Saipan and Guam, presenting herself as a wealthy Chinese businesswoman who made her fortune investing in Bitcoin. She treated targets to meals and gifts, then later asked them for money.
Prosecutors say she sometimes invented personal emergencies to pry loose more cash or cryptocurrency, at times telling victims, "You are like my mom." These details were reported by Marianas Variety.
Arrest, plea and case history
Local public radio coverage states that Inos was arrested in San Diego in April 2025 and transported back to Saipan in June. She initially faced an eight-count indictment, but later in 2025 entered a change of plea to two counts of wire fraud.
Court records and reporting describe a series of magistrate hearings over her detention and legal representation as the case moved toward sentencing. Earlier coverage of those filings is available from KPRG / Public Radio Guam.
Prosecutors' remarks
U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson, in the office's statement on the case, warned that schemes like this thrive on social trust. “Criminals engaged in affinity fraud prey on our willingness to trust others,” he said.
FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter was even more blunt, saying the defendant “built a career out of deception, leaving a trail of financial ruin,” and noting that authorities allege she even forged a federal judge's signature to push her schemes further, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Legal note
Wire fraud is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and can carry prison sentences of up to 20 years, although punishment is ultimately set under federal sentencing guidelines and the specific facts of each case. The statute and penalties are summarized by the Legal Information Institute.
Officials say anyone who believes they were targeted in a similar fashion or who has information related to this case should contact the FBI's Honolulu Field Office or the U.S. Attorney's Office that prosecuted the matter, which jointly handled the investigation and prosecution. Contact information for the field office is available through FBI Honolulu.
