FBI joins the probe into the disappearance of a SoCal grandpa linked to a crypto fortune - BERITAJA

The FBI has joined the investigation into the suspicious disappearance of 74-year-old Naiping Hou, a resident of Rancho Cucamonga and begetter of noted cryptocurrency investor Wen Hou.

FBI officials said the agency was joining the investigation begun past twelvemonth by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. They said the associated investigation was launched about a period ago.

Wen Hou could not instantly beryllium reached for comment

In an question and reply pinch The Times past year, he said he began to fishy thing was incorrect erstwhile he started to person weird matter messages from his begetter successful April.

He said his begetter gave robotic responses successful a family group chat and became much silent and refused to sojourn his grandchildren.

It was connected Naiping Hou’s May 3 day that his boy began to fishy personification other was controlling his father’s phone.

He said his begetter refused to sojourn him and his grandchildren astatine their Las Vegas home. Wen Hou said whoever was controlling his telephone refused to reply immoderate calls connected the day and, alternatively of thanking Wen Hou for the handmade Chinese noodles he sent arsenic a gift to his father’s Rancho Cucamonga home, he simply texted: “Yes I received it.”

Wen Hou said he asked family friends to spell cheque successful connected his begetter the pursuing day. Hou said they recovered the noodle package sitting connected the stoop. Inside the home, he said they recovered that it had been stripped of each its furnishings and had a shoddy caller overgarment occupation connected the interior walls

His father’s cars were besides missing from the garage. Naiping Hou was obscurity to beryllium found.

The elder Hou was reported missing connected May 4 of past year, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Detectives judge personification utilized the elder Hou’s cellphone to impersonate him for much than a month. Extensive fraudulent transactions were besides made utilizing his slope relationship about the clip of his disappearance, the section said successful a written statement.

The elder Hou’s woman was visiting family successful China about the clip he is believed to person gone missing, according to his family. While overseas she received a matter from Hou’s telephone telling her to cancel her formation home, saying that he would subordinate her successful Asia.

Although Wen Hou doesn’t cognize who is down the imaginable crimes against his father, he fears that contractors who performed activity connected Naiping Hou’s location astatine the opening of the twelvemonth whitethorn person preyed connected his begetter aliases moreover kidnapped him.

Wen Hou, a well-known hedge money and cryptocurrency investor, serves arsenic the main finance serviceman astatine Coincident Capital.

In 2022, he and his wife talented $1.1 cardinal successful cryptocurrency to the USC Keck School of Medicine to support investigation connected bosom disease.

Wen Hou said his parents person been surviving astatine the Rancho Cucamonga location for about 20 years.

He said his father, who is from China, spends his clip woodworking and playing pingpong astatine a section recreation center.

Wen Hou said he past saw his begetter successful March 2025. That period they had rented a vessel astatine the San Pedro Pier and went connected a family sportfishing trip.

Since his father’s disappearance, Wen Hou has created a website to bring consciousness to his father’s case. In it are photos of his begetter and a poster offering a $250,000 reward for accusation starring to his father’s recovery. There is besides a video successful which he makes a plea to the nationalist for their help.

Among the photos successful the website is 1 of his begetter holding a sportfishing rod aft catching a fish.

“The family is heartbroken,” Wen Hou said successful the video. “We conscionable want him back.”