The U.S. District Court has charged two individuals with involvement in a cryptocurrency scam that laundered $73 million

2024-05-17 10:24:12

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ChainCatcher News: A U.S. District Court today unsealed an indictment from a grand jury, accusing two Chinese nationals of laundering at least $73 million through shell companies related to a cryptocurrency investment scam.

Daren Li, 41, a dual citizen of China and Saint Kitts and Nevis, residing in China, Cambodia, and the UAE, was arrested on April 12 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and subsequently transferred to the Central District of California. Yicheng Zhang, 38, a Chinese citizen living in Temple City, was arrested today in Los Angeles and arraigned. Li and Zhang are both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and six substantive counts of international money laundering. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count.

Zhang Yicheng pleaded not guilty to the charges today and is scheduled for a hearing on July 9. He is currently in federal custody and plans to have a detention hearing on May 21. Li, who has been ordered to be held without bail, is scheduled for an arraignment on May 20.

According to court documents, Li, Zhang, and other co-conspirators are alleged to have managed an international money laundering operation that laundered proceeds from a cryptocurrency "pig butchering" scam. Victims were deceived into transferring millions of dollars into U.S. bank accounts opened in the names of dozens of shell companies, whose only apparent purpose was to facilitate money laundering.

Then, a network of money launderers assisted in transferring these funds to other domestic and international bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms to obscure the source, nature, ownership, and control of the funds. The scheme involved laundering over $73 million through U.S. financial institutions, with the funds being transferred to bank accounts in the Bahamas and converted into the virtual asset USDT. A cryptocurrency wallet involved in the scheme received over $341 million in virtual assets.

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