A 43-year-old Manhattan man has been sentenced in Delaware County Court after authorities say he took part in a scheme that targeted senior citizens by posing as law enforcement and convincing victims to hand over cash. Xueyu Luo was convicted of attempted grand larceny in the third degree, a class E felony, along with several misdemeanor charges tied to a sting operation that authorities say was part of a larger pattern of elder fraud.
According to WBNG, Luo attempted to steal property expected to be worth more than $3,000 during the operation. Investigators believe the scheme followed a familiar pattern used against elderly victims: scammers posing as police or other officials who pressure targets into withdrawing large sums of cash from their bank accounts and handing the money over in person. The Newport Dispatch reported the sentence as one to three years in state prison, though that term was not independently confirmed in other reporting reviewed for this story.
Notably, the two outlets covering the sentencing disagree on a basic detail: Newport Dispatch describes Luo as a woman, while WBNG describes Luo as a man. Both outlets state these conflicting descriptions in the body text as well as in their headlines.
How the Scheme Allegedly Worked
Per the station's report, the scam involved Luo and others falsely claiming to be working with law enforcement in order to solicit help from senior citizens. Once trust was established, victims were allegedly told to withdraw money from their bank accounts and pay it over in cash — a tactic authorities say is common in organized fraud rings that specifically target older residents who may be more inclined to cooperate with someone claiming police authority.
Elder financial exploitation remains a significant problem statewide. The New York State Office of Children and Family Services has identified financial exploitation as the most prevalent form of elder mistreatment reported in the state, affecting 42 out of every 1,000 older New Yorkers, with much of it carried out by people known to the victim.
Deportation to Follow Prison Term
Officials say Luo's legal troubles will not end with his release from custody. The district attorney's office told WBNG that after serving his state prison sentence, Luo will face deportation.
Separately, a 2025 report from the Newport Dispatch described a Sidney fraud complaint in which a victim said they had lost approximately $57,000, and noted that Sidney police, working with New York State Police, took a man named Xueyu Luo into custody in that case. A separate account from the New York State Police also describes a Cayuga County fraud investigation involving a person named Luo who allegedly arrived at a residence to retrieve a package believed to contain $22,400 in cash — another incident with no established link to the Delaware County sentencing.
What is clear is that the Delaware County case concluded with a conviction on the felony attempted grand larceny charge following Luo's arrest during a law enforcement sting. The sentencing closes out a prosecution that officials describe as part of a broader effort to pursue fraud networks that prey on elderly residents through impersonation and pressure tactics.
