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Financial fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency continue to draw federal enforcement action. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced on Feb. 20 that a Newcastle, Washington, man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to nearly $100 million in investment fraud proceeds.
Prosecutors detailed how Geoffrey K. Auyeung handled investor funds and redirected them through multiple financial channels as part of the conspiracy. The announcement states:
“Once the funds came into accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money was quickly moved into other accounts, moved offshore, or was used to purchase cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, tether, USD Coin, and ethereum, via cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gemini, Bitstamp, and Coinbase.”
“Much of the cryptocurrency was further transferred to accounts at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The Binance accounts were controlled by the same individual or individuals located in Nigeria and Russia. Victims were not sent any further information on their investment and Auyeung and others simply stopped responding,” the announcement adds.
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