California man admits to stealing $30K from Crystal Lake woman in Social Security scam

A California man who admitted Thursday to scamming a Crystal Lake woman out of $30,000 was sentenced to two years of conditional discharge and ordered to pay her back.

Bo Zhao, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony. In exchange for his guilty plea, an additional count of theft and wire fraud were dismissed, according to an order in McHenry County court.

He stole an additional $20,000 in bitcoin, which he also must repay, prosecutors said.

Zhao was accused of exercising unauthorized control of $30,000 received by wire from the woman, according to the complaint. The funds “were sent under false pretenses” and involved the woman’s “Social Security benefits being compromised,” according to the complaint. Zhao deposited that money into a bank in China.

The scam began when the woman received a phone call and was told that her Social Security was compromised. To avoid losing more money, she was instructed to move money to a “safe account,” authorities said.

The woman moved $50,000 in various forms, including U.S. currency and bitcoin, to the “safe account,” which actually was an account linked to a bank in China, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office reported at the time of Zhao’s arrest. The fraud was conducted April 18 through April 20, 2023, over phone and email, authorities said.