Tag: Daren Li

A U.S. federal court has sentenced Daren Li in absentia to 20 years in prison for his role in a $73+ million global crypto “investment” scam allegedly run from scam centers in Cambodia. Prosecutors say the scheme blended romance/social-engineering with spoofed crypto trading sites—then relied on U.S. shell companies and banking access to convert victims’ wires into crypto rails.

Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, has pleaded guilty to laundering over $73 million in cryptocurrency scam proceeds through shell companies and international bank accounts. His global scheme targeted U.S. investors, with funds laundered via encrypted communications and complex financial networks across multiple jurisdictions.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two Chinese nationals have been charged with laundering over $73 million from cryptocurrency investment scams, often referred to as "pig butchering." The indictment, unsealed in the Central District of California, alleges that Daren Li and Yicheng Zhang orchestrated a complex international money-laundering scheme. A cryptocurrency wallet involved in the scheme received more than $341 million in virtual assets.