Theft/Property — Washington, WA — reported 2026-07-06

SUMMARY

A 53-year-old woman from Washington pleaded guilty to defrauding Korean American seniors by promising guaranteed returns and protection of their principal investments.

KEY FACTS

  • Incident type: Theft/Property
  • Location: Washington, WA
  • Date reported: 2026-07-06
  • Suspect: female, age 53
  • Victim(s): 28 (Korean American seniors relying on retirement savings)
  • Status: pleaded guilty

REPORTED DETAILS

  • Jenni Yoon Jeong Lee pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud in U.S. District Court.
  • Lee collected more than $3 million from at least 28 victims, many of whom were Korean American seniors relying on retirement savings.
  • Prosecutors said Lee persuaded victims to open self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and transferred control of those accounts to herself.
  • At least $900,000 of investor funds was lost through casino gambling.
  • Lee admitted that her gambling addiction led her to use investors' money for gambling activities.