Story by Ethan
On July 8th, 2026, charges against Tony Wanyiu Cheng, Chun Kong Lau, Jane Doe (unidentified female defendant), Gui Li, and Qiang Li were announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Tony Wanyiu Cheng, Chun Kong Lau, Jane Doe, and Gui Li were charged with five counts of first-degree Falsifying Business Records, six counts of first-degree Identity Theft, first-degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing, second-degree Grand Larceny second-degree Residential Mortgage Fraud, second-degree Forgery, and two counts of second-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. Tony Wanyiu Cheng, Chun Kong Lau, and Qiang Li were charged with two counts of second-degree Grand Larceny, second-degree Money Laundering, second-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, and two counts of fourth-degree Money Laundering. Chun Kong Lau and Qiang Li were additionally charged with two counts of first-degree Identity Theft, second-degree Forgery, and second-degree Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument. The arrest and charges against the five defendants were a result of an investigation handled by Assistant District Attorney Kathryn Ingle of the District Attorney’s Housing, Worker and Consumer Protection Bureau and Detective Erin Currie of the NYPD Queens County District Attorney Squad, Trial Prep Assistant Chun-Wen Ko, Investigative Accountant Barak Haimoff of the Financial Analysis Unit, and Senior Intelligence Analyst Hong Man Lam of the Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, in November 2024 both Gui Li and Jane Doe allegedly impersonated a husband and wife that legitimately owned a property in Flushing, New York. The alleged impersonation took place during a closing for a cash-out mortgage where Chun Kong Lau and Tony Wanyiu, a real estate broker, were both also present. Gui Li and Jane Doe presented fraudulent documentation that led to them receiving checks meant to be given to the male homeowner. The falsified documents included Pennsylvania driver’s licenses and Social Security cards with the information of the Flushing couple.
The next day Chun Kong Lau and Qiang Li both allegedly personated the male homeowner by using fake Maryland driver’s licenses with the victim’s date of birth. The fraudulent driver’s license was used to open a joint bank account at the TD bank in Flushing, New York. The aforementioned mortgage checks that the defendants fraudulently acquired were then deposited into the joint bank account which totaled to $688,403. Following the deposit some of the money was then transferred to three business bank accounts owned by Tony Wanyiu Cheng while approximately $269,000 of the funds were electronically diverted to his personal checking account. The remaining amount was then transferred into several other bank accounts owned by unknown individuals that have relations with the defendants. The TD bank joint account was closed in January 2025 after all stolen funds were properly dispersed.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Tony Wanyiu Cheng, Chun Kong Lau, Jane Doe, Gui Li, and Qiang Li are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
