Crypto scammer poses as Google AI expert to steal $1.2M from woman

A Bay Area woman lost her life savings - $1.2 million - to a cunning crypto scam, wiping out over a million dollars she'd set aside for retirement—a prime example of ongoing targeting of U.S. savings and retirement accounts. 

'It's a personal drive for me that I don't want this to happen to others,' said Mary, a sixty-something professional who oversees the implementation of applicable laws, regulations, and policies by her employer, had saved up $1.2 million over the years. Now that money's gone - including what she'd saved for her son's college education. 'It's absolutely humiliating, devastating, I cried for weeks,' Mary said.

It all started innocently enough on LinkedIn, the business and employment-focused networking site owned by Microsoft. In March, Mary was contacted by an individual claiming to be Kenneth Ouyang, who presented himself as a Google artificial intelligence and machine learning engineer. Initially, Ouyang expressed interest in discussing AI applications within Mary's industry, establishing a seemingly professional connection. 'He's technically, very technically savvy,' Mary said. 

Over several months, Ouyang carefully cultivated a relationship with Mary, engaging in conversations about shared interests such as cooking and outdoor activities. To further build trust, they communicated via FaceTime and WhatsApp, with Ouyang even providing a copy of what appeared to be his Seattle driver's license. This meticulous trust-building process eventually led to discussions about Ouyang's purported side business in cryptocurrency.

"I did have trepidations, but I thought, 'well, in the industry, crypto does exist. There's a lot of apps. People do it. They channel funds,'" said Mary.

Despite initial reservations, Mary was persuaded to invest in a platform called Xexbit.com. The scammer's trick was to start small - Mary put in $1,000 and quickly got $1,340 back in her account. That quick win made Mary trust them, so she kept investing more until her entire retirement fund was gone.

Ouyang claimed to be co-investing with Mary throughout the scheme, adding an air of legitimacy to the venture. The scammer even attempted to involve Mary in what seemed to be a multi-level crypto-Ponzi scheme to attract additional investors, though she declined to participate. As the scam progressed, Mary was led to believe she had amassed a profit of $9 million. However, to access these supposed earnings, she was told she needed to invest an additional 10% – funds she did not have.

When the Sept. 7 deadline for this final investment passed, Ouyang disappeared, taking Mary's life savings with him. The fraudster removed his LinkedIn profile, leaving Mary with no recourse. Mary's called the cops, FBI, and IRS, hoping to get her money back and catch the crook.

"I was hesitant, and still, I fell for it," said Mary. LinkedIn says they removed 32 million fake and fraudulent accounts last year. But some prosecutors, like James Gibbons-Shapiro in Santa Clara County, say social media sites need to step up their game against these predators.

"Last year, $50 billion was scammed from everyday Americans by transnational organized crime…the problem is sophisticated scammers who know who to target, how to target them, and how to target them in order to take everything," said Santa Clara County Deputy DA James Gibbons-Shapiro.

KTVU attempted to contact LinkedIn for comments, but they did not receive a response.