The Justice Department announced on Friday ( May 16 ) that US authorities have charged two Chinese nationals in a cryptocurrency scam that stole at least US$ 73 million from defrauded victims.
Yicheng Zhang was detained by US authorities in Los Angeles on Thursday, according to an indictment that was made public after that day in US District Court in the main district of the state. In April, Daren Li, a double member of St. Kitts and Nevis, was detained at the Atlanta aircraft.
The two were charged by the US with participating in a fraud involving pig killing, a type of cryptocurrency investment scam that has grown to be a billion-dollar industry.
Co-conspirators are alleged to have given the accused instructions to start US bank accounts in the names of shell organizations.
Victims were pressured net to deposit money into these accounts, which were later laundered through US financial organizations to Bahamas bank accounts.
While scams in the crypto industry takes on many forms and hide in some remote locations, its perpetrators are n’t out of the government’s reach, according to US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco in a declaration.
Li and Zhang are both facing charges of foreign income fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, the accused face a maximum of 20 years in prison on each matter, the Justice Department said.