Two Southern California suspects admitted their roles in a brazen scam that conned an elderly Ventura man out of $25,000 after fraudsters falsely claimed his bank account was tied to child sexual abuse material in Canada, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced that Shaohua Sun, of Monterey Park, and Yanwen Gu, of Rosemead, both pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit elder abuse along with additional special allegations tied to the case.

Shaohua Sun

Online and phone scams are targeting seniors Halfpoint – stock.adobe.com

Authorities said the scheme began March 18, when the senior citizen received a text message warning him to verify a supposed $350 purchase at the Apple Store charged to his credit card.…