Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking, Identity Theft

MINNEAPOLIS – A Chinese national has pleaded guilty to identity theft and cyberstalking involving a Minnesota college student, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, between January 2020 and November 2021, Ki Cheung Yau, 27, created multiple online accounts on various websites, including social media platforms, dating websites, and pornography websites, using the name, photos, and personally identifying information of the victim. Yau used these accounts to communicate with strangers on the internet while posing as the victim. Yau falsely portrayed the victim on social media, dating, and sexually-focused websites as a young woman soliciting submissive or violent sexual relationships, including a desire to engage in racially-oriented submissive sexual conduct.

Yau then communicated with strangers online and tried to help them locate the victim and follow through on his invitations for dominating and violent sexual encounters. According to court documents, on two separate occasions in January 2021, a man went to the victim’s residence and asked for the victim by name, presumably because he believed he was meeting the victim for a sexual encounter. Also, Yau’s cyberstalking resulted in strangers directly messaging the victim in response to explicit accounts and posts made by Yau posing as the victim. Further, the victim’s family and friends’ names, photos, and contact information were also included in Yau’s stalking scheme. The victim was forced to move to a new residence and change her phone number.

Yau pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright to one count of cyberstalking and one count of identity theft. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the St. Paul Police Department.  

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary A. Taylor is prosecuting the case.