A federal judge issued an arrest warrant on Monday for a Roslyn man accused of stealing more than $2.8 million this summer from a couple who disappeared from their Old Brookville mansion earlier this year, who skipped his court date.
Yinye Wang, 36, of Roslyn, was one of two people identified by authorities in connection with the criminal activity. After being arrested on Sept. 4, Wang failed to appear in court on Monday, Sept. 22, as required.
“I’ve signed the arrest warrant and once he’s apprehended, we’ll arraign him,” U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks said, according to multiple published reports.
Authorities had also identified Qiuju Wu, 55, of Flushing as a co-conspirator.
Prosecutors say the facts match the disappearance of Peishuan Fan, 48, and JuanJuan Zwang, 44, who were last seen at their Maria Lane home in Old Brookville on March 30. According to previous reports, Fan and Zwang had a meeting in Manhattan and had told their children they would be in Syracuse the following day. The couple was reported missing the following day by Nassau County police.
Wang and Wu were charged with bank fraud for conspiring to defraud the victims by submitting fraudulent documents to a bank, according to court documents.
Wang was arrested in California and released on bond, while Wu had been arrested in Texas and was being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because she has no legal status in the United States, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Federal prosecutors allege that the defendants orchestrated a scheme that transferred millions from the victims’ accounts.
On June 29, one victim’s bank account was converted to a “joint with rights of survivorship” account.
In the days that followed, more than $1 million was transferred to Wu’s account, followed by additional withdrawals and transfers totaling over $2 million.
On July 2, the second victim’s account was similarly altered, and $860,000 was transferred to a Wu-associated account. Prosecutors allege further withdrawals and transfers occurred in early July, with hundreds of thousands more moved into accounts tied to Wu and unidentified corporate entities.
According to police, more than $2 million was allegedly stolen from Fan and Zwang.
Authorities did not specify how Wang and Wu knew each other, but the complaint, unsealed on Sept. 8, says they “intentionally conspired [d] to execute a scheme” to commit bank fraud.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the search for Fan and Zwang. The search for the missing couple is ongoing.
