The last time Peishuan Fan and his wife, JuanJuan Zwang, were seen was March 30 at their $3.9 million mansion in Old Brookville, Long Island.
About three months after their disappearance, it was discovered that over the course of less than two months, $2.8 million had been drained from their bank accounts by Chinese scammers.
On Monday, a federal magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for a suspect accused of conspiring to steal the vanished couple’s fortune.
The suspect, Yinye “Roy” Wang, who previously lived in College Point and Roslyn, New York, was charged alongside Qiuju Wu of Flushing, and others, in connection with a scheme that allegedly siphoned millions from the couple’s bank accounts between June and August 2025.
About three months after their disappearance, Fan’s elder son noticed “daily electronic transfers” being taken out of his parents’ accounts, according to The New York Times. The FBI later joined the investigation into both the couple’s disappearance and the fraudulent activity tied to their bank accounts.
Over two months after Fan’s elder son flagged suspicious activity in his parents’ account, Wang and Wu were arrested on Sept. 4 in connection with the bank fraud charges.
This case is yet another example of the growing concerns surrounding identity theft. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported more than 1.1 million identity theft complaints nationwide, with related fraud losses topping $12.7 billion.
In recent years, Chinese immigrants in New York have repeatedly fallen victim to this kind of identity theft scam. In 2022, Documented reported that more than 30 Chinese New Yorkers protested outside a Chase Bank branch in Flushing after over $150,000 had been stolen from their accounts. In 2023, a New York-based Chinese organized crime group allegedly obtained at least 3,000 driver’s licenses from Texans of Asian descent, and exploited security loopholes.
Court documents allege that Wang and Wu gained access to the couple’s accounts by submitting fraudulent documents at two branches of a bank in Flushing. The couple’s names were added to Wu’s account and another individual’s account, while ownership types were altered from “individual owner” to “joint with rights of survivorship.” Their personal details, including Social Security numbers and forged signatures, appeared on new signature cards, and addresses linked to the victims were later associated with the fraudulent accounts.
On June 29, Wu’s account balance was $1,919.26, and, according to court documents, within days more than $1 million was transferred in from the missing couple’s account. Another $2 million was transferred out from the couple’s account to a different individual’s bank account in early July. Wu was later caught on surveillance footage withdrawing large sums of money at two Flushing branches, with Wang appearing alongside her on at least one occasion.
Investigators have also tied Wang to prior identity theft activities. Nearly two years ago, in December 2023, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at the Los Angeles International Airport found multiple cell phones, ID cards, credit cards, and bank documents under different names in his luggage — none were in Wang’s own name.
Law enforcement there recovered 12 account-opening documents in six other people’s names, 17 credit cards in 12 other people’s names, multiple driver’s licenses, bank statements, checks, and handwritten notes containing Social Security numbers, PINs, and passwords.
Since first being arrested on Sept. 4 in California, Wang’s arraignment in Central Islip federal court has been delayed twice. Hearings were postponed after he failed to appear, citing flight issues. On Monday, he again did not appear, prompting Judge James Wicks to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Wang’s attorney, Felipe Garcia, told the court that Wang was previously released on a $50,000 bond in California and attempted to drive cross-country after being unable to board a flight due to lacking valid identification. Garcia said he had since lost contact with his client despite repeated attempts to reach him, according to Newsday.
Wu, however, did appear for her arraignment on Monday. The judge ordered that she be detained without bond, citing her lack of legal status in the U.S. and the fact that she was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Hong Kong in Texas, making her a “significant flight risk.”
Despite the arrests, the whereabouts of Fan and Zwang, and why they vanished, remains a mystery.
The New York Times reported that Fan, 48, and Zwang, 44, immigrated from the Shanghai region to the U.S. in 2022. Fan previously ran a construction company in China that specialized in excavation services for residential developments. He was detained by Chinese authorities for six months before leaving for the U.S., though the reasons for his detention remain unclear.
The couple purchased their 6,000-square-foot Long Island mansion in 2023 for about $3.9 million in cash. Their two sons, aged 20 and 12, returned to China after their parents’ disappearance, Attorney John Carman, who represents Fan’s elder son, told the New York Times.
It remains unclear how the couple’s accounts were compromised, where they are now, or whether they are still alive. Detective Joseph Oginski of the Nassau County Police Department said the investigation into the couple’s disappearance is still ongoing. Any tips or information can be referred to the Nassau County Police Department’s Missing Persons Squad, at (516) 573-7347, 911 or 1-800-244-TIPS.
