He transferred them to China.
By Catholics for Catholics
In another COVID-19 Pandemic related case, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the sentencing of a California man on April 30 to 144 months in prison for deceptively acquiring around $59 million in public benefits and laundering the funds to China, according to a story by The Epoch Times.
Bruce Jin, 61, of Los Angeles, had pleaded guilty in the case in January 2025, conceding that he and other co-conspirators “conspired to obtain state unemployment compensation funds, and other public funds, through fraudulent means,” the DOJ said in a May 1 statement.
Two co-conspirators and Jin “entered into a series of agreements to make it appear as if they were operating legitimate businesses selling masks and other COVID19 personal protective equipment,” the DOJ said.
“The funds that the defendants obtained and laundered through their companies were derived from fraudulently obtained state unemployment compensation (‘UC’) benefits. The indictment alleges that Economic Impact Payments, or ‘stimulus payments,’ were also obtained through fraudulent means.”
Economic Impact Payments were offered by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide financial relief to Americans.
Some participants of the scheme, including a few believed to be from China, set up thousands of accounts at banks in the United States, using the personal information of identity theft victims. The unemployment compensation monies were then routed to these accounts.
Once the monies were received, they were transferred to companies controlled by Jin and the co-conspirators.
When Jin received the funds, he made wire transfers to a bank account linked to a company in China, surpassing $35 million. An additional $2 million was transferred by Jin directly into the bank account of a Chinese person who controlled the company.
Jin received a 144-month prison term. He was ordered to forfeit more than $59 million in U.S. currency and other property, according to The Epoch Times. Two co-conspirators in the case, both from Los Angeles, have pleaded guilty and are set to be sentenced this month.
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