By F. Scott Faulkner
August 13, 2025 – Santa Barbara County, Ca.
A 34-year-old woman from Los Angeles County is behind bars after allegedly attempting to
swindle a 77-year-old Goleta resident.
The ruse unraveled on August 4, 2025, when the elderly victim received a phone call from
someone claiming to be with Amazon, warning of suspicious activity on her account and fake
bank accounts opened in her name.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Raquel
Zick, the caller then transferred her to “a supposed Federal Trade Commission agent.
She was instructed her to withdraw $30,000 in cash and prepare it for pickup”, under the guise of helping
resolve the fabricated fraud.
The caller remained on the line as the woman visited two separate Bank of America branches to
withdraw the funds.
She was then told to photograph the cash, receipts, and a sealed box containing the money before
leaving it outside her home.
But when she spotted spelling errors in an email from the so-called agent, the woman grew
suspicious and called the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies quickly coordinated with the victim, who agreed to help set a trap.
Moments later, Caihong Lei, 34, was seen loitering near the woman’s Goleta home.
As she retrieved the package and began walking toward a nearby Mercedes SUV, undercover detectives
moved in and made the arrest.
Lei was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of grand theft by false pretenses
and conspiracy to commit fraud.
She remains in custody with her bail set at $500,000.
