Monday July 1, 2024
Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announces that Rachel Chen, age 25, of North Andover, MA, has been indicted in three New Hampshire counties for her role in perpetrating tech support scams targeting elderly New Hampshire residents.
Merrimack County: On June 11, 2024, the Merrimack County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Ms. Chen with one class A felony count of attempted theft by deception and one class A felony count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception. The attempted theft by deception indictment alleges that Ms. Chen, acting with a purpose that the crime of theft by deception be committed, traveled to J.S.’s home and obtained a package from J.S. that Ms. Chen believed contained more than $1,500 in U.S. Currency belonging to J.S., which, under circumstances as Ms. Chen believed them to be, constituted a substantial step toward the commission of the crime.
The conspiracy indictment alleges that Ms. Chen, acting with a purpose that the crime of theft by deception be committed, agreed with one or more persons to commit or cause the commission of the crime, and one or more overt acts were committed by one or more of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. The overt acts include, but are not limited to:
- An unknown coconspirator, identifying himself as a bank employee, instructed J.S. to put $22,000 in cash in a box and tape up the box;
- An unknown coconspirator sent Ms. Chen an electronic message containing J.S.’s home address in Allenstown and the message “22k”;
- Ms. Chen traveled to J.S.’s home and provided a fake name and password to J.S.; and
- Ms. Chen obtained a box from J.S.
Ms. Chen is scheduled to appear in the Merrimack County Superior Court on August 22, 2024, at 8:30 a.m.
Hillsborough County-Southern District: On June 21, 2024, the Hillsborough County-Southern District Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Ms. Chen with a single class A felony count of theft by deception as principal/accomplice. The indictment alleges that Ms. Chen, acting in concert with and/or aided by one or more unknown persons, obtained or exercised control over U.S. Currency, property of D.L., in excess of $1,500, by deception, and with a purpose to deprive D.L. thereof, by purposely creating the false impression, which Ms. Chen did not believe to be true, that D.L.’s financial account had been compromised and D.L. needed to give cash to a person hired by the FBI.
Investigation revealed that D.L., age 75, of Nashua, received an e-mail purporting to be from Microsoft. The message indicated that her financial account had been compromised and provided her with a telephone number to call. D.L. called the number and spoke with an individual. That individual forwarded her to another individual who purported to work for D.L.’s bank and instructed D.L. to withdraw $20,000 cash and tape it up in a box, which D.L. did. D.L. was told that an individual hired by the FBI would come to pick up the box. D.L. then turned over the box to an individual matching Ms. Chen’s description.
Ms. Chen is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment at the Hillsborough County-Southern District Superior Court on July 11, 2024, at 1:00 p.m.
Grafton County: On June 21, 2024, the Grafton County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Ms. Chen with one class A felony count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception. The indictment alleges that Ms. Chen, acting with a purpose that the crime of theft by deception be committed, agreed with one or more persons to commit or cause the commission of the crime, and one or more overt acts were committed by one or more of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. Those overt acts include, but are not limited to:
- An unknown coconspirator sent E.B. an electronic message purportedly from “Apple support”;
- An unknown coconspirator told E.B. that her financial account had been hacked and that $20,000 had been stolen from her financial account;
- An unknown coconspirator told E.B. to travel to a “Federal ATM” in Littleton, New Hampshire; and/or
- An unknown coconspirator communicated with E.B. while E.B. was in Littleton, New Hampshire, and instructed E.B. on how to deposit funds into a cryptocurrency ATM; and/or
- An unknown coconspirator told E.B. to put $20,000 cash in a package and to tape up the package;
- An unknown coconspirator sent Ms. Chen an electronic message containing E.B.’s address;
- Ms. Chen traveled to E.B.’s home and provided a fake name and password to E.B.; and
- Ms. Chen took possession of the package containing $20,000 in U.S. Currency, property of E.B.;
Ms. Chen is scheduled to be arraigned on this indictment at the Grafton County Superior Court on July 22, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Chen faces a maximum penalty on each charge of 7 ½ – 15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison and a $4,000 fine on each indictment if convicted. The charges and allegations against Ms. Chen are merely accusations, and Ms. Chen is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Investigator Calice Couchman-Ducey of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigated this case with the assistance of the Allenstown Police Department, Nashua Police Department, and the Lemoille County Vermont Sheriff’s Office. Senior Assistant Attorney General Bryan J. Townsend, II, and Attorney Nancy DeAngelis, of the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit is prosecuting this case.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of elder abuse or financial exploitation, please contact your local police department or the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (1-800-949-0470).
