Fugitive Crypto Launderer Handed 20-Year Maximum Sentence

The sentencing of Daren Li to the statutory maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment marks a significant escalation in the United States’ crackdown on global cryptocurrency investment fraud and associated money laundering networks. The case underscores the scale, sophistication and transnational reach of scam centre operations operating from Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, and highlights the growing convergence between romance fraud, cyber-enabled deception and crypto asset laundering.

Li, a dual national of China and St Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced in absentia on 9 February 2026 in the Central District of California after absconding in December 2025 by cutting off his electronic monitoring device. He had pleaded guilty on 12 November 2024 to conspiracy to launder funds derived from cryptocurrency investment scams. The court imposed the maximum custodial sentence of 20 years, followed by three years of supervised release, reflecting the gravity of the offending and the scale of victim harm.

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Li and his co-conspirators facilitated the laundering of at least $73.6 million in victim funds. Of that amount, at least $59.8 million was channelled through US shell companies used to disguise the origin and ownership of criminal proceeds. Victims were targeted through unsolicited social media contact, online dating platforms and direct messaging, with fraudsters building false professional or romantic relationships before directing individuals to spoofed cryptocurrency investment platforms.

The conspiracy also employed technical support fraud methodologies. In certain cases, victims were misled into believing their devices were compromised and were instructed to transfer funds, either via wire transfer or crypto platforms, to resolve fictitious security threats. This hybridisation of romance fraud, investment fraud and technical support deception illustrates the adaptive tactics used by organised scam centres to maximise extraction from victims.

Li admitted to directing associates to establish US bank accounts in the names of shell companies, monitoring inbound domestic and international wire transfers, and overseeing the conversion of victim funds into virtual currency. The layering and integration stages of the laundering process were designed to obscure source, ownership and control, leveraging both traditional financial institutions and digital asset infrastructure.

Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to date, but Li is the first individual directly involved in the ultimate receipt of victim funds to be sentenced. His fugitive status adds a further enforcement dimension, with the Justice Department indicating that international partners will continue efforts to secure his return.

The investigation was led by the US Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center, with support from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Dominican National Police and the US Marshals Service. Prosecutors included specialists from the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Fraud Section, reflecting the multidisciplinary approach required in complex crypto-enabled financial crime cases.

The case forms part of a broader strategic campaign against scam centres and transnational organised crime groups exploiting cryptocurrency ecosystems. The Criminal Division has emphasised asset seizure, forfeiture of crime-linked cryptocurrency, dismantling of digital infrastructure and disruption of cross-border laundering networks as core pillars of its enforcement model. Its International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property prosecutors remain embedded globally to enhance coordination with foreign law enforcement authorities.

For compliance professionals and financial institutions, the case reinforces the persistent risk posed by shell company account structures, rapid crypto conversion flows and the intersection between social engineering fraud and digital asset markets. It also signals continued regulatory and prosecutorial scrutiny of the control environment surrounding virtual asset service providers and correspondent banking relationships.

As crypto investment fraud continues to generate multi-million dollar losses, enforcement agencies are demonstrating both willingness and capability to pursue organisers, facilitators and launderers across jurisdictions. The 20-year sentence imposed on Li, even in absentia, sends a clear deterrent message to operators of scam centres worldwide.

Read the press release here.