The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged two Chinese nationals, Daren Li (41) and Yicheng Zhang (38), for their involvement in a $73 million cryptocurrency scam. The two were arrested in Atlanta and Los Angeles earlier this year for their roles in orchestrating a complex “pig butchering” scheme. This scam targeted victims through fake cryptocurrency investment opportunities, tricking them into transferring funds to U.S. bank accounts opened in the name of shell companies.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated that Li and Zhang are accused of leading a criminal syndicate that laundered millions from victims by routing the money through domestic and international bank accounts, eventually converting it to USDT (Tether) and sending it to cryptocurrency wallets under their control.
The DoJ revealed that the laundered funds were moved through U.S. financial institutions to bank accounts in the Bahamas, where they were converted into cryptocurrency. Li and Zhang also managed lower-level accomplices who assisted in moving the proceeds overseas.
Both men face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, along with six substantive counts of international money laundering. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in prison for every count.
The scheme follows the typical structure of pig butchering scams, where fraudsters establish trust with wealthy individuals through social media or dating platforms, then persuade them to invest in seemingly profitable cryptocurrency ventures. Once the victims transfer funds, the money is quickly moved to accounts under the scammers’ control.
This case is part of a larger crackdown on crypto-related scams. Last month, Google filed a lawsuit against two developers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong for creating fraudulent crypto apps on the Google Play Store.
INTERPOL and the U.S. State Department have also raised alarms about the rising number of romance and labor trafficking scams in countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, where victims are often coerced into participating in fraudulent schemes.
