Flanagan stated that the indictment stems from allegations that Mohammed was a participant in a nationwide computer and phone scam that targeted certain individuals, including a resident of Belmont County.
Flanagan said that the Belmont County case actually started with the arrest and prosecution of an individual from China, Siqi Yu, who unlawfully entered the country through Mexico and requested asylum. Months later, Yu joined a group that was targeting individuals through a computer and phone scam. One such person targeted was from Belmont County, according to Flanagan.
Yu’s role was to travel throughout the country and collect money from unsuspecting victims of the scam. Flanagan said that Mohammed’s role, according to the recently returned indictment, is similar to Yu’s role. Both, according to Flanagan, were utilized by other members of the scam to travel long distances to personally collect the money from the victims and return the money to the members of the criminal organization…