Five men have admitted in court that they played key roles in a huge international scam that tricked people into investing in fake digital assets. The scam led to the theft of more than $36.9 million from victims, most of whom were based in the United States.
The criminal operation was run from scam centers in Cambodia. The group used social media, dating apps, phone calls, and text messages to reach out to victims. They posed as trustworthy people and eventually convinced victims to invest in what they claimed were profitable digital assets.
The five men who pleaded guilty are Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He, and Jingliang Su. All of them played different roles in this international network. While the victims believed their money was being invested and growing, it was actually being stolen and moved to foreign accounts.
How the Money Was Moved
The scam worked through several steps. First, money was sent by the victims to U.S. bank accounts set up under fake companies. These companies were created by members of the scam group to make everything look legal.
Based in Alhambra, California, Joseph Wong operated a money-laundering ring in Los Angeles. This group created shell companies, opened U.S. bank accounts, and helped move the stolen money abroad. Yicheng Zhang, who is from China, also helped by opening two of these U.S. accounts, which were used to process the stolen funds.
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After that, the funds were transferred to a Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas. This account was set up under the name Axis Digital Limited, a company founded by Jose Somarriba and Shengsheng He. Later, Jingliang Su joined as a director of Axis Digital and helped with the conversion and transfer of funds.
Once the money reached Deltec Bank, it was changed into Tether (USDT), a type of digital currency known as a stablecoin. The converted digital assets were then sent to a crypto wallet controlled by people in Cambodia. From there, the funds were sent to leaders of scam centers in Sihanoukville, a city in Cambodia known for such fraudulent operations.
Arrests, Charges, and Investigations
Each individual involved in this fraud has been charged based on their role in the conspiracy. Wong and Zhang pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, a serious crime that could lead to up to 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024.
Somarriba He and Su acknowledged their guilt of conspiring to run an unregistered money services company, a crime that carries a maximum five-year prison term. Su has been held in custody since November 2024.
So far, eight individuals have entered guilty pleas. Among them is Daren Li, a Chinese and St. Kitts and Nevisian national who resided in Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates prior to being detained in the United States in April 2024. In May 2024, Lu Zhang, a Chinese national who was unlawfully residing in the United States, also entered a guilty plea. In the US, Lu Zhang oversaw a network of money launderers.
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U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli for the Central District of California and Matthew R. Galeotti, chief of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, were in charge of this significant case. Leading the investigation was also William Mancino, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division.
With assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Dominican National Police, and the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center conducted the actual investigation.
This case highlights the growing risk of online fraud and the complex global networks used by scammers to hide their tracks and steal money from unsuspecting individuals.
