Taiwan police broke up an organized crime ring that flew "money mule" collectors to the U.S. to swindle an elderly Taiwanese-American woman, marking the first case of its kind — bad news for the gang, a win for cross-border policing.

• An elderly woman living in California for decades was tricked into handing over about $3 million (NT$89 million) in cash and gold through a fake investment scheme.
• Collectors worked in teams of three, renting apartments near her home and watching her daily routine so they could grab the money the moment she fell for the scam.
• Police lifted more than ten fingerprints off 17 fake investment documents using a decades-old chemical test, and matched them to over 20 suspects with Bamboo Union gang ties and prior fraud records.
• The mules quickly converted the stolen money into cryptocurrency in California and wired it in batches to Taiwan, China, and Cambodia, leaving no cash on them and hiding where the money went.

Outlook: Arrests began in June and continued into late July, and the investigation is still widening as police trace the laundered funds.