Daren Li from China is facing some serious consequences after pleading guilty to his role in laundering $73 million through various crypto scams.
This isn’t just a slap on the wrist, he could be looking at up to 20 years behind bars.
Part of the plan
Li admitted to his part in a conspiracy to commit money laundering, which prosecutors say involved a range of crypto investment scams, including the so-called pig butchering scheme.
This operation ran from around August 2021 until April 12, 2024, and it’s all laid out in a plea agreement filed on November 11 in California.
According to the documents, Li was the mastermind behind instructing others to open U.S.-based bank accounts using shell companies.
The goal? To hide the true nature, source, and ownership of the funds flowing through those accounts.
Once victims transferred their hard-earned cash into these accounts, the money was converted into Tether and funneled into wallets controlled by Li and his accomplices.
Big game
One of the wallets involved in this elaborate scheme reportedly received over $341 million in digital assets.
Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated that Li orchestrated this operation outside the U.S., using a web of shell companies and international bank accounts to pull it off.
Li confessed that $73.6 million in stolen funds went directly into bank accounts tied to the scam, with at least $59.8 million coming from those U.S. shell companies that helped launder the money.
Li was arrested at Atlanta’s airport in April, while his alleged partner in crime, Yicheng Zhang, was nabbed in Los Angeles in May. After entering his guilty plea, Judge R. Gary Klausner set Li’s sentencing hearing for March 3 next year.
Payback
If that wasn’t enough to worry about, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison along with three years of supervised release.
Plus, there’s a fine of $500,000 or double the gross amount from his crimes, whichever is greater.
Prosecutors also mentioned that he might be required to pay full restitution to the victims of his schemes, which could range anywhere from $4.5 million to the full $73 million.
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