$36,900,000 Crypto Scam Targeting Americans Taken Down by Feds As Five Men Plead Guilty to Running International Criminal Network

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that five men have pleaded guilty to a Cambodian-based crypto investment scam that conned victims out of $36.9 million.

In a new press release, the DOJ says the international crime ring operated by misleading victims to invest in false digital asset scams.

The DOJ says Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He and Jingliang Su were part of an international criminal network that tricked American victims into believing they were investing in digital assets, but instead funneled money through US shell companies, international bank accounts and crypto wallets.

Through texts, phone calls, social media and dating apps, the perpetrators contacted victims and gained their trust. They would then convince victims to invest in fraudulent crypto projects, telling the victims all the while that their investments were increasing in value.

Instead of investing their capital, however, the men transferred $36.9 million in victim funds to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas under the name of “Axis Digital Limited.”

The funds were then funneled to USDT wallets controlled by individuals in Cambodia.

Aside from the five men pleading guilty, eight other co-conspirators have also confessed, so far.

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