Federal authorities Wednesday charged two men with helping to abduct a Southern California car dealer who was held for $2-million ransom, beaten, killed and buried in the Mojave desert.
In court documents, prosecutors and agents have alleged that two Chinese nationals, Guangyao Yang and Peicheng Shen, orchestrated Liao’s abduction, using Valladares as “muscle” and Romero as a driver.Yang, 26, and Shen, 34, have been charged in Los Angeles with kidnapping and extortion. Both men are currently in Chinese custody. Shen was arrested in January 2019 and began talking to Chinese authorities.
“If there were problems with the kidnapping attempt, they would blame everything on Valladares,” Shen said, according to the affidavit.The day of the abduction, Shen, Valladares and Romero drove to the San Gabriel Square shopping plaza and parked outside a 99 Ranch Market, Shen told Chinese authorities. Yang was sitting in his Range Rover nearby, he said.
The next day, Liao’s father received two photographs on his WeChat messaging application. They were of his son — legs bound, hands tied behind his back, eyes covered with tape, Sanchez’s affidavit said. He fielded a call five minutes later.“Father save me, help me, I have been kidnapped,” Liao said, according to the affidavit. An unfamiliar voice then came on the line, saying, “Your son has made me very poor. I have lost everything and suffered a divorce because of him.
Yang left the United States for China and was arrested by the Chengdu Public Security Bureau, FBI Special Agent Cara Sammartino wrote in an affidavit. Chinese investigators searched his phone and found WeChat messages sent to Shen that, among others, read, “Tape up the eyes and mouth,” “Has he been screaming nonstop?” and “I have been kicking him.”
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