Crypto Scam Network Exposed as Chinese National Jailed for Laundering $36.9 Million

A Chinese national has been sentenced to 46 months in prison in the United States for his role in laundering more than $36.9 million linked to a large scale digital asset investment scam that targeted American victims. Jingliang Su was also ordered to pay $26.8 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an illegal money transmitting business. The fraud was orchestrated through scam centres based in Cambodia and affected at least 174 victims across the United States.

The case provides a stark illustration of how transnational criminal networks are industrialising crypto enabled fraud. Victims were targeted through unsolicited contact on social media, messaging platforms, telephone calls and online dating services. Once trust was established, they were directed to professional looking but entirely fake cryptocurrency trading websites. These platforms falsely displayed investment growth, masking the fact that victim funds had already been stolen.

Court documents show that the laundering infrastructure was deliberately complex but highly effective. Victim funds were first moved through US shell companies and domestic bank accounts before being consolidated into a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas. At that point, Su and his co-conspirators instructed the bank to convert the funds into the stablecoin Tether USDT. The converted assets were then transferred to digital wallets controlled in Cambodia and distributed to scam centre operators across the region.

The use of USDT in this scheme is particularly notable. Stablecoins are frequently marketed as low risk instruments within the crypto ecosystem, yet this case demonstrates how they are being systematically exploited to move large volumes of illicit funds across borders with speed and reduced friction. The reliance on a regulated international bank to facilitate the conversion step also underlines the continued exposure of the traditional financial system to crypto enabled laundering risks.

Eight co-conspirators have now pleaded guilty, with sentences ranging from 36 to 51 months. The investigation involved a broad coalition of US and international agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and overseas law enforcement partners. Prosecutors have framed the sentencing as part of a wider strategy to dismantle scam centre operations globally by seizing cryptocurrency, disrupting digital infrastructure, and targeting the money laundering networks that underpin these frauds.

From a financial crime compliance perspective, the case reinforces several critical lessons. First, crypto investment fraud has evolved into a mature, repeatable business model operated by organised criminal groups rather than isolated actors. Second, stablecoins and offshore banking relationships remain key vulnerabilities in the global AML framework. Third, effective disruption depends on coordinated international enforcement, timely intelligence sharing, and the ability to trace digital asset flows across jurisdictions.

As regulators and financial institutions continue to grapple with crypto related risk, this sentencing highlights the urgency of moving beyond reactive controls. Without stronger oversight of stablecoin usage, enhanced monitoring of cross border crypto conversions, and greater accountability for facilitators, scam centres will continue to scale their operations and victim losses will continue to rise.

Read the press release here.