Jingliang Su, a Chinese national, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for the role he played in the laundering of more than $36.9 million taken from victims of crypto scams.
Su, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal money transmitting business, was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $26.8 million.
“The Criminal Division and its law enforcement partners have continued to evolve and caught large-scale scammers, who target people through their phones, social media, and fake internet sites, steal from them, and then move their money through cryptocurrency and wire transfers outside of the United States,” he added.
The scam ring convinced victims to transfer funds to accounts controlled by Su and his co-conspirators, who would then launder the money through shell companies or international bank accounts.
“New investment opportunities may sound intriguing, but they have a dark side: attracting criminals who, in this case, stole then laundered tens of millions of dollars from their victims,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California, in a statement.
