Four former law enforcement and military officers have been accused of staging a fake raid at the behest of a Chinese national in order to coerce a California businessman to release his multimillion-dollar business interests.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced on Monday that the scheme was orchestrated in 2019 by a Chinese national who was the victim’s business partner.

The victim in this case was a legal immigrant from China but was reportedly involved in a massive dispute with his former partner.

The identity of the Chinese national who directed this shakedown has not been released and is being referred to as "unindicted co-conspirator 1.”

The officers on the other hand have been identified as Steven Arthur Lankford, Glen Louis Cozart, Max Samuel Bennett Turbett, and Matthew Phillip Hart.

Law Enforcement Shakedown

Those individuals were directed by "co-conspirator 1" to pose as law enforcement officers and execute the raid at the home of the businessman in Irvine, California.

During the raid, they allegedly physically assaulted the businessman and forced him and his family into one room. They also seized their communication devices and restricted their movement to keep them from contacting friends or family.

Once the businessman and his family were under control, the assailants forced him to transfer a massive $36,972,386 in cash as well as shares worth substantial sums in Jiangsu Sinorgchem.

The raid was planned primarily by Lankford as he was a former deputy for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Another member of the gang was in the British Army and yet another was an officer in the Australian military.

These men knew what they were doing and clearly used their past training in planning this raid. While these men are finally facing justice for this shakedown, the Department of Justice has some questions to answer.

Law Enforcement Resources Exploited

Investigators discovered that Lankford utilized his connections to exploit law enforcement databases to gather information on the victim which is strictly against policy.

United States Attorney Martin Estrada issued a statement saying, "It is critical that we hold public officials, including law enforcement officers, to the same standards as the rest of us. It is unacceptable and a serious civil rights violation for a sworn police officer to take the law into his own hands and abuse the authority of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.”

The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion, conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law.

While this scheme has been uncovered, it's worth wondering how many other extortion schemes and shakedowns like this have happened at the direction of wealthy foreign nationals.