Five Men Plead Guilty to Laundering $36.9 Million in International Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy

Strategic Insights -

Five men, including Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He, and Jingliang Su, have pleaded guilty to laundering more than $36.9 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy. The conspiracy was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia, with co-conspirators inducing U.S. victims to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators and laundering victim money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets.

Key Takeaways:

  • Five men, including Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He, and Jingliang Su, pleaded guilty to laundering more than $36.9 million in an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy.
  • The conspiracy was carried out from scam centers in Cambodia, with co-conspirators inducing U.S. victims to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators.
  • The victims were contacted directly through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages, and online dating services, and were promised high returns on their investments.
  • The scammers told victims their investments were appreciating in value when, in fact, those funds were stolen and not invested at all.
  • The laundered funds were transferred to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened in the name of Axis Digital Limited.
  • Somarriba, He, and Su directed Deltec Bank to convert victim funds to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and to transfer the converted funds to a digital asset wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia.
  • Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national illegally in the United States.
  • The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maxwell Coll, Alexander Gorin, Nisha Chandran, Stefanie Schwartz, and Tamara Livshiz.

Statistics:

  • $36.9 million: The amount laundered in the international digital asset investment scam conspiracy.
  • 5: The number of men who pleaded guilty to laundering the funds.
  • 20 years: The maximum penalty that Zhang and Wong face for their roles in the money laundering conspiracy.
  • 5 years: The maximum penalty that Somarriba, He, and Su face for their roles in the conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business.
  • November 17: The date of Su's sentencing hearing.

Sources:

  • "Five Men Plead Guilty to Laundering $36.9 Million in International Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy" (Office of United States Attorneys, LOS ANGELES)
  • IC3.gov (Internet Crime Complaint Center)
  • U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service
  • United States Secret Service's Global Investigative Operations Center
  • Homeland Security Investigations' El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force
  • Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center
  • U.S. Marshals Service