Google has filed a RICO lawsuit against two Chinese scammers it alleges are behind the OTCAI “click a button” app Ponzi.

Named defendants in Google’s filed April 4th Complaint are:

Yunfeng Sun (aka Alphonse Sun), an app developer believed to reside in Shenzhen, China

Hongnam Cheung (aka Zhang Hongnim, Stanford Fischer), an app developer believed to reside in Hong Kong, China

As alleged by Google, Sun and Cheung

have engaged in a persistent, continuing scheme to defraud consumers, despite Google’s efforts to combat the scheme to protect users on its platforms by investigating and suspending offending fraudulent apps that Defendants uploaded to Google

Play.

The apps in question are of the
“click a button” Ponzi
variety, of which BehindMLM has documented well over one hundred.

Despite their efforts to stay on top of Sun’s and Cheung’s scamming through Google Play, Google Workspace, Gmail, Google Voice and YouTube, Google claims they

have persisted in uploading new apps to Google Play, using varying computer network infrastructure and accounts to obfuscate their identities, and making material misrepresentations to Google in the process.

Since 2019, Sun and Cheung are alleged to have uploaded eighty-seven apps to Google Play.

While Defendants varied their approach from app to app, the means and methods were substantially similar.

Specific “click a button” app Ponzis cited by Google include TionRT, Starlight Project, SkypeWallet and OTCAI.

OTCAI launched in April 2022. It was your typical tether (USDT) “click a button” app Ponzi, representing users click a button correlated with fictional trading.

Google cites
BehindMLM’s coverage of OTCAI’s collapse
in June 2022 in their Complaint.

Through these scams and Xiangying, Inc a shell company registered in New York, Google alleges Sun and Cheung have defrauded around 100,000 consumers. Google claims ~8700 of defrauded consumers are US residents.

Sun’s and Cheung’s scamming took place through
human trafficked slaves
posing as friends of potential romantic partners;

Defendants or their agents would send text messages using Google Voice to potential victims, primarily in the United

States and Canada.

The messages were designed to convince the targeted victims that they were sent to the wrong number (for example, “I am Sophia, do you remember me?” or “I miss you all the time, how are your parents Mike?”).

If targeted victims responded (for example, by telling the senders that they must be sending messages to the wrong number), Defendants or their agents would try to strike up a conversation and after exchanging initial messages with the victims, shift the conversations to other messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.

Defendants or their agents would then attempt to develop a “friendship” or “romantic relationship” and ultimately try to persuade the victims to download and invest through one of their apps.

The “friend” or “romantic partner” would offer to guide the victim through the in

🤖 Quick Answer

What is the OTCAI "click a button" app Ponzi scheme that Google is suing over?
OTCAI represents a "click a button" Ponzi application allegedly operated by Chinese developers Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung. The scheme defrauds consumers through fraudulent apps distributed on Google Play, utilizing a simple click-based mechanism to solicit investments while operating as an illegal pyramid scheme.

Who are the defendants named in Google's RICO lawsuit filed in April?
The defendants are Yunfeng Sun, also known as Alphonse Sun, an app developer from Shenzhen, China, and Hongnam Cheung, also identified as Zhang Hongnim or Stanford Fischer, residing in Hong Kong, China. Both are accused of developing and distributing fraudulent Ponzi scheme applications.

How has Google attempted to address the fraudulent app activity?

🔗 Related Articles

- Bitqyck a $13 million fraudulent scheme says SEC
- VBit Technologies relief defendants settle with SEC
- Entry of Default recorded against Forsage scammers
- How Control Finance scammers duped Karl-Joonatan Mets
- Okhotnikov doubles down on Forsage fraud with Meta Force