A U.S. federal judge has sentenced a Chinese national to nearly four years in prison for participating in money laundering of more than $36.9 million related to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
This verdict marks a step forward in law enforcement as US authorities aggressively crack down on cryptocurrency scam networks.
Inside the $36.9 million crypto scam
According to a statement from the California Central District Attorney's Office, Jingliang Su (45 years old, Chinese national) was a member of an international criminal ring. This group defrauded 174 victims in the United States through a fraudulent digital asset investment program.
Prosecutors said the group approached victims through unwanted social media messages, phone calls, text messages, and online dating platforms. They gained the victims' trust and then lured them into participating in fraudulent investment opportunities.
The accomplices used fake websites that mimicked legitimate cryptocurrency trading platforms, persuading victims to transfer funds. The group then stole the assets while simultaneously making the victims believe their investments were still increasing in value.
"New investment opportunities may sound very attractive, but they have a dark side, attracting criminals – as in this case, where the perpetrators stole and laundered tens of millions of dollars from the victims," said Deputy Public Prosecutor Bill Essayli.
The criminal group used a highly sophisticated money laundering system. Authorities said that more than $36.9 million stolen from victims was transferred from multiple US bank accounts controlled by the group, and consolidated into a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas.
This money was converted into Tether (USDT), then transferred to digital wallets in Cambodia. The accomplices in Cambodia then distributed the funds to fraudulent operations in the region.
Authorities revealed that Su had been in federal custody since December 2024. In June 2025, he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to organize illegal money transfers.
Last Tuesday, federal judge R. Gary Klausner sentenced Su to 46 months in prison. In addition, Su was ordered to pay over $26 million in restitution to the victims.
Besides Su, eight other accomplices also pleaded guilty. Among them, Jose Somarriba was sentenced to 36 months in prison and ShengSheng He received a 51-month sentence.
This type of scam is quite similar to the "pig slaughtering" model – meaning that scammers build a long-term relationship of trust with victims and then find a way to seize their assets. Notably, these types of scams are increasing rapidly.
In October, US prosecutors indicted Cambodian citizen Chen Zhi for operating a "pig slaughter" cryptocurrency scam that used forced labor and defrauded billions of dollars globally.
In a recent report, Chainalysispredicted that high-yield investment programs (HYIPs) and the "pig slaughter" model will continue to be the leading scams in terms of scale in 2025. The blockchain analytics company estimates that scams in this sector caused losses exceeding $17 billion in 2025 .
