A Chinese national who became widely recognized after a YouTube sting operation has confessed to his involvement in a large-scale fraudulent scheme targeting senior citizens throughout the United States.

Jiandong Chen, 42, who went by the nickname “Little Tiger,” admitted guilt in a federal court concerning charges linked to a $27 million plot involving fraud and money laundering, as stated by federal prosecutors.

Officials report that this scheme was active from 2021 to 2023, affecting over 2,000 individuals, predominantly those in their 70s and 80s.

The fraudulent activities included bogus tech support calls, impersonations of financial institutions and government officials, as well as deceptive refund schemes designed to coerce victims into sending money they never received.

Chen was among five individuals indicted in a case revealed in 2024. He was apprehended in the Los Angeles area during a nationwide crackdown that took place in August of that year.

His sentencing is set for June 26, where he could face up to 40 years in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud, in addition to a potential 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The case gained public attention after Chen appeared in a YouTube video titled “CONFRONTING SCAMMERS WITH A FAKE FUNERAL (EPIC REACTIONS),” which has drawn more than 1  million views.

In the video, Chen arrives at a home in the Los Angeles area expecting to collect cash from what he believed was an elderly victim, only to be confronted by content creators staging a sting.

During the encounter, Chen used translation technology and claimed he only spoke Chinese.

Prosecutors say victims were typically contacted through unsolicited calls, emails or pop-up messages and then directed to phone numbers linked to call centers in India.

Once engaged, scammers used social engineering tactics to build trust, sometimes convincing victims to install remote access software that allowed entry into their computers.

A common tactic involved refund scams, where victims were told they were owed money and then were misled into believing they had received too much. They were instructed to return the nonexistent overpayment by wiring money or sending cash through the mail.

After gaining trust, members of the scheme directed victims to send money to locations across the United States, including Southern California and Nevada.

In some cases, cash was picked up in person.

Chen also admitted that he and others moved the stolen money using cryptocurrency, which was used to pay co-conspirators, transfer funds overseas and cover travel tied to the operation.

He now awaits sentencing, where the viral moment that exposed him may be the least of his problems.

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