A lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on January 5, 2025, accuses multiple individuals and entities of engaging in fraudulent activities and violations under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The complaint targets Yongze Song, Lianhua Li, SSL Transportation LLC, and others.
Xiandong Shi, a New York resident, alleges that from November 2015 to the present, the defendants were involved in a scheme to defraud him through farm projects in Delaware and China.
According to the lawsuit, Song was Shi’s agent and business partner from 2015 to 2019 and allegedly conspired with others, including Longjian Jiang and Jiguo Wu, to induce Shi into investing millions of dollars into farm ventures by inflating costs and misrepresenting their profitability.
Shi claims that Song and his associates exploited their positions of trust to financially harm him, including a $200,000 transaction for grape vine seedlings that were actually wild, unsuitable varieties.
The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of submitting false expense reports over several years, misappropriating approximately $1.2 million through inflated or fabricated farm operation costs.
Shi is seeking monetary damages of around $3 million for the losses incurred due to the alleged racketeering activities. In addition to financial compensation, the plaintiff requests punitive damages on state law claims and equitable relief, including an accounting of profits made by the defendants and disgorgement of any wrongfully obtained interests.
Xiandong Shi is represented by attorneys Carolyn Shields and Ying Liu of Liu & Shields LLP, based in Flushing, New York. The case is being heard under Case No. 1:25-cv-00079.