As many as 90 University of Washington students from China may have been defrauded of up to $1m in tuition money, UW police department investigators said.
华盛顿大学警察局调查员近日表示,该校多达90名中国学生可能被骗走高达100万美元的学费。
The Chinese students, all studying at the UW in Seattle this summer, were told they could save 5 percent — about $600 — off the $11,340 cost of summer tuition by paying an intermediary, said UW Police investigator Lt. Doug Schulz.
华盛顿大学警察局侦查员道格·舒尔茨少尉表示,这些今年夏天在华盛顿大学学习的中国学生被告知,通过中间人代缴11340美元的夏季学费,可以节省5%,约600美元。
The investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made, Schulz said.
舒尔茨少尉表示,调查正在进行中,目前还没有人被捕。
The scam started to unravel last month when a New York detective contacted UW about stolen credit-card numbers from that state being used to pay summer tuition. At least 19 students are confirmed to have been defrauded, for a total of $190,000.
这桩诈骗案上月开始浮出水面,当时纽约一名侦探联系华大称,有人用开户行在华盛顿州的失窃信用卡账号支付夏季学费。至少19名学生确认被骗,涉案总金额为19万美元。
But there could be as many as 90 victims, according to information gathered by UW's student fiscal services office. Several students said a UW student from China who was well-known in the community spread word of the deal through WeChat.
不过,根据华大学生财务处收集的信息,受骗者可能多达90人。多名学生表示,在华大校园很出名的一名中国留学生通过微信发布了代缴学费的信息。
Nelson Lee, a Seattle lawyer who is helping the students pro bono, said the scheme was clever because "a 5 percent cut is not that outlandish. Five percent has a ring of truth to it."
从事学生公益性工作的一名名叫尼尔森·李的西雅图律师表示,该诈骗计划非常狡猾,因为5%的节省并不奇怪,5%确有其事。
He has asked the U.S. Attorney's Office for help, and said he believes federal investigators should be involved because the case may include wire fraud and could be widespread.
他已经向美国律师事务所寻求帮助,并表示自己认为联邦调查人员应参与进来,因为该案件可能包括范围极大的远程诈骗。