Suspect Sentenced to Nearly 4 Years in Prison in $37 Million Crypto Money Laundering Case

Odaily News According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, a suspect involved in large-scale cryptocurrency money laundering has been sentenced. Jingliang Su, a 45-year-old Chinese national, was sentenced to nearly four years in prison by a U.S. federal court on Tuesday local time for his role in laundering nearly $37 million in illicit digital assets. He was also ordered to pay over $26 million in restitution.

Prosecutors stated that Su was a member of a transnational criminal network. The group contacted U.S. victims via text messages, phone calls, and online dating platforms, luring them into fake cryptocurrency investments. Victims were directed to websites impersonating legitimate trading platforms and falsely informed that their investments were generating continuous profits, while the funds were actually transferred and misappropriated.

The investigation revealed that the related funds were laundered through U.S. shell companies, digital asset wallets, and international bank accounts. Ultimately, approximately $36.9 million was transferred to an account at Deltec Bank in The Bahamas and converted into USDT. Subsequently, accomplices in Cambodia transferred the USDT to the masterminds behind the regional scam centers.

The U.S. government has identified at least 174 American victims. Su had previously pleaded guilty in June to one count of "conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business." So far, eight individuals involved in the case have pleaded guilty, including another suspect who was sentenced to over four years in prison. (The Block)