A U.S. judge has sentenced a Chinese national to nearly four years in prison for his role in laundering over $36.9 million from a fraudulent crypto investment scheme.
This ruling marks an enforcement breakthrough as U.S. authorities ramp up efforts to dismantle networks involved in crypto fraud.
Inside the $36.9 million crypto scam
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Jingliang Su, a 45-year-old Chinese national, was part of an international criminal network. The group defrauded 174 American victims through a fraudulent investment scheme involving digital assets.
Prosecutors stated that the group contacted victims via unsolicited messages on social media, phone calls, texts, and online dating platforms. They built trust before presenting fake investment opportunities.
The accomplices used fake websites that resembled legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges to convince victims to transfer money. The scammers allegedly stole the money while making victims believe their investments were increasing in value.
"New investment opportunities may sound exciting, but there’s a downside: It attracts criminals, who in this case stole and laundered tens of millions of dollars from their victims," said Deputy Prosecutor Bill Essayli.
The operations used a sophisticated network for money laundering. Authorities estimate that over $36.9 million from victims' funds was transferred from American bank accounts controlled by the group to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas.
The money was exchanged for Tether (USDT) and transferred to digital wallets managed in Cambodia. Accomplices in Cambodia then forwarded the exchanged funds to fraud operations throughout the region.
Authorities revealed that Su has been in U.S. custody since December 2024. He pleaded guilty in June 2025 to one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal money transfer business.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner sentenced Su to 46 months in prison. The judge also ordered him to repay over $26 million to the victims.
Eight additional accomplices have pleaded guilty in the case. Among them are Jose Somarriba and ShengSheng He, who received prison sentences of 36 and 51 months, respectively.
The method follows the pattern of 'pig butchering' scams. Here, perpetrators first build trust over a longer period before financially exploiting the victims. Notably, this type of fraud has increased significantly.
In October, U.S. prosecutors charged Cambodian national Chen Zhi with being behind forced labor and so-called 'pig butchering' crypto fraud, which allegedly stole billions from victims worldwide.
In a recent report, Chainalysis noted that high-yield investment programs (HYIP) and pig butchering scams continued to be the largest categories of fraud measured by volume in 2025. The blockchain analysis firm estimates that fraud and deception in the sector led to losses of over $17 billion during the year.