Chinese Scammers Steal "Disappeared" Old Brookville Couple's Bank Accounts

By Rupert Deedes

Federal prosecutors have charged two NY-based Chinese scammers - Yinye “Roy” Wang and Qiuju Wu - with forging documents and stealing over $2.8 million from the bank accounts of a local Chinese Old Brookville couple who "disappeared" last March 30th - leaving the couple's two young children behind.

The alleged bank-fraud scheme diverted roughly $2.8 million from the bank accounts of the couple, Peishuan Fan and JuanJuan Zwang.  The couple lived in a $4 million mansion at 7 Maria Lane in Old Brookville, from which the couple "disappeared" and went missing on March 30, 2025. No one has seen nor heard from either one of them since then.

The federal indictment was unsealed in Central Islip in early September 2025 and has been tied in media reporting to the disappearance of the Old Brookville couple.

The two young sons of the missing couple - ages 20 and 12 - lived alone in their Old Brookville home for several months - and then returned to China in August, according to John Carman, the family's attorney. 

Prosecutors allege that Wang and Wu committed bank-fraud by using forged or fraudulent documents and false representations to alter account ownership and move large sums out of the victims’ accounts, and into accounts controlled or associated with Wu and Wang.

The criminal charges detail that the two Defendants obtained control or access to the victims’ bank accounts by fraudulently changing signature/ownership records at the bank and then drained the accounts through transfers and withdrawals.

These fraudulent transfers included:

On or about June 29, 2025, the account of “Victim-1” was allegedly converted from an individual account to a joint account “with rights of survivorship” which included an account linked to Wu. In the days immediately after that change, more than $1 million was moved from the victim’s account into an account tied to Wu, and substantial sums were then withdrawn or converted (for example, into cashier’s checks).;

On or about July 2, 2025, a similar alteration and transfer occurred with “Victim-2” — prosecutors allege $860,000 was transferred out of that account, with additional transfers and withdrawals in early July that together amounted to multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Over the period between late June and early/mid-July, the complaint alleges roughly $2–2.8 million was moved out of the victims’ accounts into accounts tied to Wu and to corporate entities associated with the defendants.

Surveillance video and bank branch records reportedly show Wu conducting in-branch transactions at two Flushing bank branches and Wang appearing with her in at least one instance; the filings allege a coordinated pattern of high-value transfers, cashier’s-check purchases, and withdrawals. 

The FBI and US Department of Justice have not confirmed whether Wang and Wu are responsible for the murder or disappearance of the couple, or were just stealing their money after news reports that the couple went missing. 

Federal authorities report that Wang was arrested in California and subsequently released on bond, and Wu was arrested in Texas and is being held with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer because she has no lawful immigration status. Both defendants were expected to make initial appearances in federal court in Central Islip.