The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of Chinese nationals who are accused of a million-dollar crypto scam called "pig butchering." On Friday, May 17, the DOJ disclosed the details about the two Chinese nationals.
Chinese Nationals Accused of $73 Million Pig Butchering Crypto Scam
According to The New York Post's latest report, the pig butchering crypto scam of two Chinese nationals allowed them to launder around $73 million. The DOJ disclosed the details regarding their arrests:
Yicheng Zhang: a 38-year-old Chinese national residing in Temple City, California, who was arrested in Los Angeles on May 16.
Daren Li: a 41-year-old dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis. He was taken into custody on Apr. 12 at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"Cryptocurrency investment scams exploit the borderless nature of virtual currency and online communications to defraud victims," said Deputy Atty-General Lisa Monaco via the DOJ's official press release.
How Chinese Nationals Fool Their Victims
The U.S. DOJ explained that the Chinese nationals used the pig butchering scam, which is an investment fraud. Officials stated that they fooled their victims into sending millions of dollars to U.S. bank accounts under their names and dozens of shell companies.
After that, the scammers transferred the money they received to other international and domestic bank accounts. They also used crypto platforms to hide the source, ownership, nature, and control of the funds.
Luckily, the DOJ worked with international and U.S. partners to arrest these Chinese scammers successfully. Authorities stated that the arrest against the two Chinese nationals shows the Department of Justice's ongoing commitment to disrupting the cybercrime ecosystem across all financial markets.
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