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Updated Thursday, February 9, 2012 0:06 am TWN, The China Post news staff



	Twenty-two suspected members of a fraud ring are handed over to the Taichung District Prosecutors' Office on charges of swindling money from victims, after being questioned by police officers yesterday. They allegedly passed themselves off as prosecutors to con money from local people. (CNA) Enlarge Photo

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CIB busts fraud ring, nabs 22 posing as prosecutors

The China Post news staff--The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB, 刑事警察局) on Tuesday joined forced with local police stations to bust a fraud ring and nabbed 22 suspects who allegedly passed themselves off as prosecutors to swindle money from victims, according to a press release by the CIB.

Led by Prosecutor Liu Shih-hao of the Taichung District Prosecutors' Office, a task force composed of police officers of the No. 3 division of the CIB, local police precincts of Keelung City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan County and Taichung raided residences and offices of 22 suspects, including the mastermind surnamed Lee, in northern and central Taiwan on Tuesday.

The 22 suspects were arrested, with over NT$300,000 in money swindled from victims also confiscated, and they were all handed over to the Taichung Prosecutors' Office for further prosecution on charges of fraud.

In late 2011, the No. 3 division of the CIB was tipped off that a fraud ring headed by Lee was allegedly recruiting young people in Taichung to swindle money from victims by claiming that they were prosecutors and could safeguard their money from con artists. This way, the ring smoothly swindled at least millions of New Taiwan dollars per month.

CIB then joined forces with related police units to set up a task force to investigate the case. Following more than a month of investigations, the task force found that Lee's ring was the most active among four similar groups using similar tactics to swindle money. The task force also found that more than half of such fraud cases that occurred around the island were perpetrated by Lee's ring.

CIB officials urged local people not to respond to phone calls from strangers who claimed to be able to help integrate their assets and deposits in one bank account, in the name of judicial units, administration units or social order units.

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