The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington filed a civil action on Tuesday seeking the forfeiture of over $7 million in digital assets recovered from a massive crypto scheme, a new press release from the Department of Justice shows.
Fraudsters Stole $97 Million in Crypto Scheme, New Press Release Shows
According to the July 23 press release, U.S. officials are looking to forfeit $7.1 million, just a sliver of the $97 million stolen by a handful of crypto fraudsters between June 22 and July 24.
Recovered in December 2024, the illicit funds were laundered as part of a complex oil tank rental scheme involving Newcastle, Washington resident Geoffrey K. Auyeung.
“The co-schemers in this fraud moved their ill-gotten gain through various cryptocurrency accounts to try to launder the money stolen from victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “Federal investigators and prosecutors in our office moved as quickly as possible to trace and seize the cryptocurrency so that some of the losses can be returned to victims.”
Crypto Fraudster Faces Up to 200 Years Behind Bars
Indicted in August 2024, Auyeung and his unnamed co-conspirators allegedly convinced unwitting victims to move their funds into escrow accounts based in Europe and Texas in order to generate “significant profits” from renting out oil tanks there.
Once victims sent their money, the crypto fraudsters stopped responding and shuffled the funds to crypto accounts in Russia and Nigeria—one of which had ties to a terrorist organization.
“The money was quickly moved to one or more of at least 81 different accounts at financial institutions, moved offshore, or moved to one or more of at least 19 different cryptocurrency accounts, where it was used for the purchase of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum,” the press release states.
Auyeung faces a maximum of 200 years behind bars if convicted for the international crypto fraud, though sentencing varies per jurisdiction.
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