Cryptocurrency broker Yong Ying Global Investment Company Limited appears to be engaged in fraud against California consumers

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has received a complaint from at least one California victim regarding a crypto investment.

The first victim was contacted on WhatsApp by a stranger claiming they worked for an investment firm called “Yong Ying Global Investment Co.” The stranger convinced the victim to wire money using the Meta Trader 5 Platform to purchase crypto currency. Essentially, the victim wired more than $450,000, believing that the money was being put into an investment account. At some point, the victim tried to withdraw the money, but was told he was locked out of his account. Then the stranger blocked him on WhatsApp.  

The second victim met a woman on WhatsApp named “Li Sa” and they became friends. Eventually, she offered to show him how to trade foreign exchange on the Meta Trader 5 platform and had him register at www.fix-yongying.com. Over a period of months, the victim made multiple transfers of cryptocurrency to the platform and believed he was had made profits of more than $180,000, At some point, the platform informed the victim they had blocked his account and he would need to pay taxes before he could withdraw any money. The company operated the website at fx-yongying.com.

This appears to be what is commonly called an “Advance Fee scheme,” which can take many forms, as discussed here:  https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/advance-fee-schemes. This also appears to be what’s known as a Social Media Scam, which is described here: https://dfpi.ca.gov/2022/05/20/romance-scams-and-crypto-assets-fact-or-fraud/

The DFPI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services.  To check whether an investment or financial service provider is licensed in California, consumers may contact the Department for questions or inquiries at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677.  If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/.