The U.S. Department of Justice charges Geoffrey K. Auyeung with a cryptocurrency money laundering scheme

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a resident of Newcastle, Washington, has been charged in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency money laundering scheme, facing "conspiracy to commit money laundering and nine counts of money laundering through concealment or expenditure."

The DOJ stated that Auyeung, who was arrested on August 12, posed as a custodial agent for oil and gas investments to defraud investors, subsequently transferring client funds to accounts under his control. "Once the funds entered accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money would quickly be transferred to other accounts, moved overseas, or used to purchase cryptocurrencies such as BTC, USDT, USDC, and ETH through cryptocurrency exchanges like Gemini, Bitstamp, and Coinbase." Investigators from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have traced $64 million flowing into 74 different bank accounts linked to Auyeung. The indictment seeks the forfeiture of approximately $2.3 million seized from Auyeung's bank accounts. "Millions converted into cryptocurrency from telecom fraud proceeds have been frozen and are awaiting seizure. HSI has identified 22 victims with total losses of $7.7 million. However, law enforcement believes there may be more victims," the DOJ noted.