Judge rejects former PSU student’s deportation offer in nationwide computer hacking scheme
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WILLIAMSPORT -- A federal judge has chosen to send a former Penn State student to jail for her role in a nationwide computer hacking scheme rather than accept her offer of immediate deportation to her native China.
U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Tuesday sentenced Lei Bao, 24, to 30 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release.
He explained the victims of the scheme need justice and restitution. He ordered Bao to split with Yankun Jiang, one of the other defendants, payment of $377,591 in restitution.
Bao's attorney, George Vomuolakis, proposed that she receive a sentence of time served and be allowed to self-report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement since she has been in jail for 15 months.
He minimized her role in the scheme, claiming she was involved for only two months and realized between $2,000 and $3,000. He cited the savings to taxpayers if she would be deported now.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd provided different information on Bao's role.
She acknowledged she was a courier who went to people's houses to pick up money but noted she also was a transporter, making five flights to Los Angeles with larger amounts.
"Deportation is not punishment," Lloyd said, noting the impact on the lives of the victims has been devastating.
Bao, who received a degree from Columbia University after Penn State, attempted to recruit other participants, the prosecutor said.
Vomuolakis claimed his client became a transporter because she lived near an airport and no one else was available.
She became involved in the scam activity while at Penn State as a favor to one of the other defendants, but withdrew after two months in 2023 upon realizing what she was doing was wrong, he said.
Bao knows once she is deported it is highly unlikely she would be given permission to return to the United States, Vomuolakis said.
Although Brann did not approve immediate deportation, he authorized returning her passport when she completes her prison sentence so she can report to immigration authorities instead of being on supervision for a year.
Bao was among eight Chinese nationalists charged in a superseding indictment as members of what prosecutors called the "Pennsylvania group" that preyed on the elderly and wealthy between August 2023 and February 2024.
Its members directed victims to pay or transfer $4.4 million through false pretenses and representations, an indictment states.
The scam included a notice on the computer screen that the device had been hacked, along with a "pop-up" purportedly from Microsoft with a number to call to correct it.
Those who made the call were told their bank account was not secure, they should withdraw the money and provide false information as the reason, for instance, that it was being used for home remodeling.
They also were told a federal agent would pick up the cash at their home and ensure its safekeeping. They were provided a code word a courier posing as a federal agent would provide upon arrival.
Couriers in some cases would take the money to a supervisor in State College. It then would be taken to New York City and from there to Los Angeles.
Lloyd, at a previous court proceeding, said more than 50 victims in 19 states had been identified. Some victims lost their life savings and homes, she said.
Bao had pleaded guilty in December to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.