A California resident, Shengsheng He, has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for helping run a massive international fraud scheme that stole nearly $37 million from American victims. The court also ordered Shengsheng He to pay back more than $26 million to those who lost their savings.
The case centered on a global network that operated scam centers in Cambodia. These centers tricked people in the United States into thinking they were making smart investments in digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies. Instead, the money was stolen and moved overseas.
Prosecutors said Shengsheng He was a former co-owner of Axis Digital Limited, a company registered in the Bahamas. Shengsheng He worked with other individuals, including Jose Somarriba and Jingliang Su, to transfer and disguise victim funds through shell companies, overseas banks, and cryptocurrency wallets. By using these methods, the criminals made the money difficult to trace and return to victims.
The fraud network was well-organized and operated across many countries. It involved U.S.-based money movers, bank accounts in the Bahamas, and cryptocurrency transfers to wallets controlled by scammers abroad. From there, the funds were passed on to leaders of scam centers in Southeast Asia.
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How Victims Were Tricked
According to court documents, the scam started in simple ways. Victims were first contacted through unexpected text messages, phone calls, social media interactions, or even online dating platforms. The scammers would build trust by pretending to be friendly and caring.
Once trust was gained, the criminals offered investment opportunities in digital assets. They told victims that their money was being placed into accounts where it was growing rapidly in value. Victims could even see fake balances showing supposed profits. In reality, the money was gone the moment it was transferred.
More than $36.9 million in victim funds were eventually funneled into a bank account in the Bahamas under the name of Axis Digital Limited, tied to Shengsheng He and Somarriba. That money was then converted into cryptocurrency known as Tether, or USDT. The digital assets were sent to wallets managed by individuals in Cambodia. From there, the stolen funds were distributed to scam center leaders in the region, including in Sihanoukville, a city known as a hub for such operations.
Authorities say that Shengsheng He worked closely with Somarriba and Su to make sure the transfers were completed. Their role was to help disguise the money trail, making it harder for investigators to track.
Multiple Guilty Pleas in the Case
Shengsheng He was not the only one caught in the global fraud conspiracy. At least eight others have pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme.
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Daren Li, a national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, and Lu Zhang, a Chinese national living illegally in the U.S., each admitted to conspiring to launder money. Zhang managed a network of U.S.-based money movers, while Li was tied to broader financial operations within the scheme.
Somarriba and Su, both tied to Axis Digital, also pleaded guilty for their roles in helping operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Each played a part in converting stolen funds and sending them overseas.
The investigation was handled by the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center, with help from Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and several international partners. Their work uncovered the sophisticated methods the fraudsters used to move money across borders and hide their activities.
Officials including Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti and Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli warned that scams like these often begin with something as simple as an unsolicited message on a phone. They emphasized that the criminals preyed on hardworking Americans, convincing them to hand over retirement savings and college funds.
Authorities stated that the sentencing shows law enforcement is committed to holding those responsible accountable, even when the crimes stretch across multiple countries.
