Chinese Nationals Charged in U.S. For Laundering $73 Million in Crytpo Scam

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Daren Li and Zhang Yicheng allegedly induced victims to transfer funds to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms or bank accounts set up in the name of shell companies. Photo: VCG

Two Chinese nationals have been arrested and charged in the U.S. for their alleged leading roles in laundering at least $73 million in proceeds from cryptocurrency investment scams, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a recent press release.

The defendants, Daren Li and Zhang Yicheng, allegedly induced victims to transfer funds to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms or bank accounts set up in the name of shell companies, according to an indictment issued by a California district court dated May 15.

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Two Chinese nationals, Daren Li and Zhang Yicheng, were arrested for laundering at least $73 million from cryptocurrency scams.
Their schemes involved tricking victims via social media, dating platforms, or tech support disguises, to transfer funds to fraudulent accounts.
They face charges of conspiracy and international money laundering, with a potential maximum sentence of 20 years for each count if convicted.

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Who’s Who

CMD Export and Import: CMD Export and Import is a California-registered company identified by law enforcement as one of around 74 shell companies involved in the cryptocurrency investment scam. One of the victims claimed to have sent funds to a bank account opened in its name, which was reportedly used in the laundering process by Zhang Yicheng and Daren Li.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

August 2021：: Zhang, Li and their team allegedly started managing an international syndicate to launder proceeds of cryptocurrency investment scams.

May 2022：: An unnamed victim was first contacted by scammers on WhatsApp.

Around July to August 2022：: The unnamed victim invested around $1.5 million through the fraudulent platform CoinZoom and later wired funds directly to bank accounts provided by 'Angela'.

Late August 2022：: The unnamed victim discovered the scam when attempting to withdraw money.

May last year：: U.S. law enforcement interviewed an unnamed victim.

By April this year：: Zhang, Li and their team allegedly managed an international syndicate transferring more than $73.6 million into bank accounts in the Bahamas.