Washington man sentenced to 5 years for helping launder nearly $100 million in cryptocurrency

Odaily Planet Daily News The U.S. Department of Justice stated in a press release that Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a 47-year-old resident of Newcastle, Washington, USA, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Geoffrey K. Auyeung assisted overseas fraudsters in transferring nearly $100 million in investment fraud proceeds through bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges. The fraudsters deceived victims into investing in the oil and gas industry, inducing them to transfer funds into purported escrow accounts. To this end, Geoffrey K. Auyeung established at least 9 entities to receive the funds, subsequently transferring them overseas or converting them into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC through exchanges like Gemini, Coinbase, and BitStamp. The majority of these cryptocurrencies were sent to Binance accounts controlled by individuals from Nigeria and Russia.

Geoffrey K. Auyeung opened at least 81 bank accounts at 24 financial institutions and 19 accounts at 8 cryptocurrency exchanges, receiving a total of $97.1 million in wire transfers and deposits. He earned at least $4 million in commissions for assisting with this fraud scheme and received an additional $400,000 in commissions through an account under his wife's name between August 2024 and December 2025. Geoffrey K. Auyeung pleaded guilty in February of this year and will forfeit approximately $2.3 million seized from bank accounts and his home, an Audi SQ8 vehicle, and has agreed to forfeit approximately $7.1 million in cryptocurrency. (The Block)