A 41-year-old Chinese citizen, Daren Li, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in a scheme that laundered over $73 million in proceeds from cryptocurrency investment scams. According to the US Department of Justice, Li used a network of shell companies and international bank accounts to facilitate the laundering process. He is set to be sentenced on March 3 and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Li was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on April 12, and his co-conspirator, Yicheng Zhang, was arrested in Los Angeles on May 16. The case highlights the Justice Department's commitment to holding perpetrators of cryptocurrency investment fraud accountable, regardless of their location.
The plea comes as losses from crypto investment scams reached $4.5 billion in 2023, with 'pig butchering' scams being a significant contributor. These scams involve perpetrators building online relationships with victims before convincing them to invest in a cryptocurrency platform, often using false promises of guaranteed returns. Li's role involved instructing co-conspirators to open US bank accounts and monitoring the transfer of victim funds, which were then converted to virtual currency and distributed to controlled wallets. Some of the proceeds were traced to bank accounts at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, where over $58 million was seized during an investigation into international money laundering and wire fraud.