A federal judge has rejected a guilty plea from a woman accused of stealing millions of dollars from a Long Island couple who disappeared from their Old Brookville home last year, according to the federal court.
Qiuju Wu, 55, of Flushing, had agreed to plead guilty to charges connected to a bank fraud involving more than $2.8 million taken from the accounts of Peishuan Fan, 48, and Juan Juan Zwang, 44. The judge declined to accept the plea agreement, however, meaning the criminal case against her will continue in federal court.
Wu was charged along with Yinye Wang, 36, of Roslyn, who prosecutors said worked with her to carry out the fraud. Authorities say the pair used fraudulent documents and false information to gain access to the couple’s bank accounts and transfer large amounts of money into accounts connected to Wu.
Fan and Zwang, who disappeared nearly one year ago, are closely tied to the fraud investigation. Nassau County police said the couple had plans that included a meeting in Manhattan and told their children they would travel to Syracuse the next day. When they didn’t hear from them, the family reported them missing.
Their disappearance remains unsolved, and federal authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, joined the investigation. Officials have not said whether Wu or Wang was involved in the couple’s disappearance, but prosecutors said the financial fraud began after the couple was last seen.
According to court documents, one of the victims’ bank accounts became a joint account with “rights of survivorship” in late June, marking the beginning of the fraud scheme.
Soon after the change was made, more than $1 million was transferred into an account connected to Wu. In the days that followed, additional withdrawals and transfers were made, totaling more than $2 million from the same account, prosecutors said.
After that change, about $860,000 was transferred into another account linked to Wu. Authorities said further withdrawals continued, bringing the total amount stolen to more than $2.8 million. Federal prosecutors said Wang and Wu made the transfers using fraudulent documents and false information submitted to the bank. Investigators said that initially the accounts were only in Fan and Zwang’s names, and then someone changed them without their permission.
Wu was arrested in Texas in September of last year and has remained in federal custody. At the time of her arrest, officials said she was also being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because she did not have legal status in the United States.
Wang was arrested separately in California in connection with the same case. He was later released on bond but failed to appear in federal court. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Wang after he missed his scheduled court appearance. Authorities have said he remains wanted.
The case has drawn attention across Long Island because of the couple’s sudden disappearance and the large amount of money involved. Fan and Zwang lived in a large home in Old Brookville and were reported missing by their family after they did not return home and stopped communicating.
Investigators have continued searching for answers about what happened to the couple. Law enforcement officials have not announced any confirmed sightings since they were reported missing, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
The judge’s decision to reject Wu’s guilty plea means the case will move forward in federal court. Wu could still face trial or reach a new plea agreement at a later time.
