Couple Accused of Swindling Chinese Emigres

Michael Yanfeng Shen is an affluent man, as evidenced by his large house in Walnut, his two Mercedes-Benzes and his booming real estate appraisal business.

But whether Shen intended to help hundreds of fellow Chinese emigres follow in his golden footsteps isn’t nearly as apparent.

State authorities, in fact, say Shen got rich by preying on members of the local Chinese and Taiwanese communities--and not by helping them land good jobs as he had promised.

On Thursday, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Shen, 60, on suspicion of grand theft and consumer protection violations. Shen, through his attorney, agreed to surrender today. His wife, Nancy Hsiuchien Shen, 51, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of aiding her husband.

“At this point we have no comment,” said Peter Berlin, a lawyer representing the Shens. “Believe me, we’d like to get out his story as soon as possible, but we simply cannot do that at this point.”

Shen, according to authorities, took out ads in local Chinese-language newspapers promising to teach immigrants how to become successful real estate appraisers through his Shen Appraisal School, and to then put many of them to work in his appraisal business.

“Simple way to make big buck. No need to speak English. Guarantee job placement” is the English translation of the ads, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in the case.

Real estate appraisers can easily make $100,000 a year determining the value of homes and commercial properties so banks can make loans, according to officials with the state Office of Real Estate Appraisers.

Shen charged students as much as $2,000 for job training, and promised to refund it once they conducted enough appraisals for his firm, authorities said. But he never taught his students enough to actually get the licenses they would need, or to do the job properly, authorities said.

“I think it is a complete scam,” said Officer Donald Oxley, an investigator for the state Office of Real Estate Appraisers.

Oxley said many alleged victims appear to be well-educated and not typically the kind to fall for a scam.

“Some of them flat out said this would never happen to them in their country,” Oxley said. “The problem is, these victims are immigrants to this country. They came here for the American dream. They came to achieve something, and instead they fell hook, line and sinker.”

That scenario, if it proves true, is a common one.

Such “affinity scams,” in fact, have been the scourge of ethnic communities throughout Southern California for decades. In recent years, they have become almost epidemic, as more and more immigrants seek to assimilate into American culture, authorities say.

As they do, they seek out other emigres--especially people who appear successful--to help them learn the ropes.

“In our culture . . . that is one way of scamming them. By showing them the material things, they will think you are OK,” said Christine Lee, director of the Asian American Lawyer Referral Service. “They’re in a comfort zone when they are working with their own kind.”

Unfortunately, so are the con artists.

They rely on the loyalties of their victims to go along with the scams, and then count on them to stay quiet because of language barriers.

“We call them cockroaches; they keep coming out,” Lee said.

Con artists, she said, bilk the unsuspecting through any means possible--legal and medical representation, education, job training, even phone service and self-improvement efforts.

Many of Shen’s alleged victims tell stories similar to that of Benjamin Kwok.

According to the affidavit, Kwok said he read Shen’s ad in the Chinese Daily Newspaper of Monterey Park, and paid his initial fee of $498 in December 1997.

After Kwok completed the course, Shen allegedly offered to employ him and give him additional--and special--training for another $1,500. Kwok said he paid it and did what he was told. But he could never get work as an appraiser and was never given the promised refund, he said.

Jerry R. Jolly, acting director of the Office of Real Estate Appraisers, said the Shen case is one of the most serious out of the 500 or so that his office has investigated since it was established to combat fraud in 1992.

Jolly said Shen’s appraisal school is accredited. But the state staff is small and only investigates schools when complaints are received.

Of the current case, Jolly added, “It has nothing to do with teaching [quality]. It has to do with grand theft. They were taking money from people who had expectations of getting a license, and literally none of them got a license.”