US Justice Department busts US$36.9m crypto scam with ties to Cambodia

The US Justice Department has announced that five men have pleaded guilty to charges of helping to launder over US$36.9 million, stolen from victims of a fake digital asset investment scam that operated out of centres in Cambodia.

The scam targeted individuals in the United States.

The five men are:

· Joseph Wong, 33, from California

· Yicheng Zhang, 39, from China

· Jose Somarriba, 55, from Los Angeles

· Shengsheng He, 39, from California

· Jingliang Su, 44, from China and Turkey

They were part of a global criminal network, members of which tricked US victims into thinking they were investing in cryptocurrencies.

The victims were contacted through social media, texts, phone calls and dating apps.

Once the scammers gained their trust, they convinced their victims to invest and they were told that their investments were growing, but the money was actually being stolen.

The stolen money was sent through US shell companies, foreign bank accounts and crypto wallets.

More than US$36.9 million was funnelled into a single bank account in the Bahamas, under a company called Axis Digital Limited.

Three of the men, Somarriba, He, and Su, used the Bahamian bank account to convert the stolen money into the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT), then transferred it to wallets controlled by people in Cambodia.

These funds eventually went to leaders of scam centres in places like Sihanoukville.

Wong ran a group in Los Angeles that helped to set up fake companies and bank accounts, through which to move the stolen money.

Zhang also opened bank accounts for the same purpose.

Wong and Zhang pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

He, Somarriba and Su pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money services business, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years, according to the US Justice Department.