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Theft

California Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Federal Prison for Laundering $36.9 Million from Victims in International Digital Asset Investment Scam

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A California man was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for laundering over $36.9 million from victims in an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy. The court also ordered him to pay $26,867,242.44 in restitution to victims. The scam was carried out from centers in Cambodia, and eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far.

Key Takeaways:

  • Shengsheng He, a 39-year-old California man, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for laundering $36.9 million from victims in an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy.
  • He was part of a group of co-conspirators that preyed on American investors by promising them high returns on supposed digital asset investments, when in fact, they stole nearly $37 million from U.S. victims using Cambodian scam centers.
  • The court ordered He to pay $26,867,242.44 in restitution to victims, highlighting the severity of the financial losses incurred.
  • The scam was carried out from centers in Cambodia, with eight co-conspirators pleading guilty so far, including Daren Li, Jose Somarriba, Lu Zhang, and Jingliang Su.
  • He co-founded Axis Digital Limited with Somarriba, and Su joined the company as a director, participating in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.
  • The USSS's Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case, with assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations' El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center, U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals Service.
  • Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maxwell Coll and Alexander Gorin prosecuted this case, along with Stanton Jones and David Tryron of the U.S. Attorney's Office's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Statistics:

  • $36,867,242.44: The amount of restitution ordered by the court for victims.
  • 51 months: The length of Shengsheng He's federal prison sentence.
  • 8: The number of co-conspirators who have pleaded guilty so far in the case.
  • $350 million: The amount of victim funds returned to date by the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) since 2020.
  • 180+: The number of cybercriminals convicted by CCIPS since 2020.

Sources:

  • United States Attorneys General
  • Source 2: IC3.gov

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