prison

According to Decrypt, the Cambodian National Assembly has unanimously passed a new bill to combat online fraud, targeting operators of large-scale scam operations that utilize cryptocurrency, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The bill is still pending review by the Senate and final approval from King Norodom Sihamoni.Under the bill, the core leaders of scam groups will face 15 to 30 years in prison, and if death results, they could be sentenced to life imprisonment; organizers can be sentenced to up to 20 years and fined heavily, while participants may face 2 to 5 years in prison and fines of up to $125,000.Analysis indicates that cryptocurrency scams such as "pig butchering" have rapidly spread in Southeast Asia in recent years, relying on cryptocurrency for cross-border transfers and money laundering, with annual amounts involved reaching hundreds of billions of dollars. Such crackdowns may lead to scams "shifting rather than disappearing," and the key lies in whether there is simultaneous action against corruption protection, money laundering networks, and cross-border capital flow systems.

According to China News Weekly, the People's Court of Honggang District in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province recently announced a first-instance judgment. Two men were sentenced for stealing electricity from high-voltage lines in an oil field for Bitcoin mining. The principal offender, Zhang, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan, while the accomplice, Zhao, was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.According to the judgment, in September 2024, Zhang illegally connected to the high-voltage line of an oil field in Daqing and set up 24 Bitcoin mining machines in an abandoned pigsty he rented. In December of the same year, Zhao joined in knowing that Zhang was stealing electricity and purchased an additional 12 mining machines, bringing the total to 36 machines running. In August 2025, the two were arrested by the public security authorities.It was calculated that Zhang stole 565,375.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at 438,580.52 yuan; Zhao stole 468,060 kilowatt-hours, valued at 363,750.78 yuan. The court determined that both men committed theft, with Zhang as the principal offender and Zhao as the accomplice. The court also ordered Zhang to repay 438,580.52 yuan, and Zhao to bear joint repayment responsibility for 363,750.78 yuan. The mining machines and related equipment involved in the case will be handled by the public security authorities in accordance with the law.

The People's Court of Honggang District, Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province recently announced a first-instance judgment. Two men were sentenced for stealing electricity from high-voltage lines in an oil field to mine Bitcoin. The main offender, Zhang, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 50,000 yuan, while the accomplice, Zhao, was sentenced to 4 years and 10 months in prison and fined 20,000 yuan.According to the judgment, Zhang illegally connected to the high-voltage line of an oil field from a certain oil extraction plant in Daqing and set up 24 Bitcoin mining machines in an abandoned pigsty he rented. In December of the same year, Zhao joined in knowing that Zhang was stealing electricity and purchased an additional 12 mining machines, bringing the total to 36 machines running. In August 2025, the two were arrested by the public security authorities. It was calculated that Zhang stole 565,375.2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, valued at 438,580.52 yuan; Zhao stole 468,060 kilowatt-hours, valued at 363,750.78 yuan. The court found both men guilty of theft, with Zhang being the principal offender and Zhao the accomplice. The court also ordered Zhang to compensate 438,580.52 yuan, while Zhao was jointly liable for 363,750.78 yuan of that amount. The mining machines and related equipment involved in the case will be handled by the public security authorities in accordance with the law.

According to Cryptopolitan, the Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma to hold illegal cryptocurrency mining activities criminally liable, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to 2.5 million rubles (approximately $25,000). Currently, about 50,000 individuals and entities in Russia are engaged in mining activities, but fewer than 1,500 have completed registration.Meanwhile, Russia has extended the mining ban to the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikal Territory, lasting five years until March 15, 2031. The mining ban currently covers 13 regions, including Irkutsk, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and several republics in the North Caucasus. The Energy Minister of Moscow Oblast has proposed banning mining in Moscow and the region to alleviate the load on the power grid. Russia is one of the top three destinations for Bitcoin mining globally, but the government is prioritizing the use of computing power for artificial intelligence applications.

The U.S. prosecution has charged a Maryland man, Jonathan Spalletta, with multiple attacks on the decentralized exchange Uranium Finance since 2021, involving approximately $54 million, and he has now been formally indicted.According to the indictment released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Spalletta faces two charges of computer fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years and 20 years in prison, respectively, with a total maximum sentence of 30 years. The prosecution claims that Spalletta manipulated smart contract trading processes to create false profits, thereby illegally withdrawing more funds than he was entitled to, ultimately causing severe damage to the exchange and even leading to its collapse. Furthermore, the investigation indicated that he used part of the illegal proceeds to purchase collectibles, including a piece of fabric from the Wright brothers' airplane that was taken to the moon by astronaut Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission. The prosecution emphasized that crypto assets are also protected by law, stating that "the so-called 'cryptocurrency is just virtual assets' cannot be an excuse for theft."

A man in Singapore was sentenced to two years in prison for assisting a former colleague in illegally transferring and laundering approximately 8.83 million Singapore dollars (about 6.5 million US dollars) in cryptocurrency assets.The case revealed that three former employees, after leaving due to disputes, hacked into the cryptocurrency trading platform SafeX, a subsidiary of their former company DLT Ltd, and transferred funds in three transactions between June and August 2025. The individuals involved received the funds through their wife's account, converted them multiple times into Bitcoin and the stablecoin USDT, and dispersed them into multiple wallets to conceal their flow. Some of the funds have been cashed out for personal expenses. One individual involved is still at large.

According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Michael David Coberg was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $127,000 in restitution for assisting cryptocurrency scammer Adam Iza in extortion and false arrest.Coberg served as Iza's business partner and advisor, earning a salary of at least $20,000 per month. In October 2021, Coberg participated in bringing a victim to Iza's residence, where Iza threatened the victim with a gun, and Coberg interrogated the victim in his capacity as an on-duty law enforcement officer, forcing the victim to transfer $127,000 to Iza's account. In September 2021, Coberg conspired with Iza and others to lure another victim from Miami to Los Angeles, arresting him through a fabricated traffic stop and illegal drug possession charges.Coberg pleaded guilty in September 2025 to conspiracy to commit extortion and conspiracy to violate civil rights. Iza has been in federal custody since September 2024, has pleaded guilty to federal charges, and is awaiting sentencing.

According to Nikkei News, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan plans to strengthen penalties and regulation for unregistered cryptocurrency operators. The plan aims to move regulations related to crypto assets from the "Funds Settlement Act" to the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" to enhance investor protection. For operators selling crypto assets without registration, criminal penalties are proposed to increase from the current "up to 3 years of imprisonment or fines of up to 3 million yen" to "up to 10 years of imprisonment or fines of up to 10 million yen (or both)."In addition, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission will be authorized to conduct mandatory on-site inspections and evidence seizures for criminal investigations. The statutory name for registered operators is proposed to change from "crypto asset exchange operators" to "crypto asset trading operators." This move is in response to the increasing disputes related to highly speculative meme tokens.

According to Decrypt, Chinese citizen Zhang Xinghua was sentenced to two years in prison by a Singapore court for conspiring to abuse computer systems and handling criminal proceeds in connection with a theft of approximately $6.9 million at the SafeX cryptocurrency exchange.Prosecutors stated that he conspired with two other accomplices, one of whom, Chen Chong Xin, who is still at large, accessed the SafeX crypto vault without authorization three times between June and August 2025, transferring over $6.9 million to multiple wallets. He then laundered part of the funds through Tornado Cash, depositing over $1.6 million in two transactions, which could have yielded over $886,000 in profits, but police intervened to stop it.The case came to light after the SafeX system triggered a low balance alert. Singapore has frozen or seized approximately $2.1 million in related crypto assets, while about $4.8 million remains unrecoverable in offshore private wallets or with virtual asset service providers. Court hearings revealed that Zhang Xinghua returned approximately $95,000 in Bitcoin through his wife. Another accomplice in the case is still under investigation.

According to market news, Nevin Shetty (42) from Washington State, USA, secretly transferred $35 million of company funds to his own DeFi platform HighTower Treasury while serving as CFO of a private software company, investing in high-yield lending protocols, which later resulted in the funds nearly being wiped out due to the Terra crash.The incident led to the company laying off 60 employees and nearly going bankrupt. Shetty was convicted of four counts of wire fraud, sentenced to two years in prison, ordered to pay $35 million in restitution, and will be subject to three years of supervised release after his release, during which he is prohibited from holding any executive position in any company without approval.

According to the official website of the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced that a Chinese national, Fei Liao, has been sentenced to federal prison for participating in the laundering of funds obtained from a cryptocurrency investment scam. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 40 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in 2026.Liao was also ordered to forfeit over $2.3 million in seized funds and to pay more than $2.8 million in restitution to victims. The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs for the Eastern District of Texas and was investigated by the Tyler branch of the United States Secret Service, with federal prosecutor Robert Austin Wells handling the prosecution. Court documents show that Liao assisted in laundering funds from "Pig Butchering" and other cryptocurrency investment scams by setting up shell companies and bank accounts with others.Such scams typically contact victims through social media, dating platforms, or unsolicited phone calls, establishing a trust relationship before inducing them to invest in cryptocurrency. After victims transfer funds to accounts controlled by the scammers, the fraudulent platform displays high returns, encouraging further investment, ultimately leading to victims being unable to withdraw funds and suffering significant losses.Law enforcement agencies remind individuals that if they encounter similar scams, they can report them to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and provide as much information as possible, including the name of the investment platform, cryptocurrency addresses, transaction hashes, bank account information, and contact details of the suspects, while also retaining communications and transfer records with the scammers.

According to Decrypt, a 24-year-old man from Connecticut, Elmin Redzepagic, faces up to 375 years in prison for allegedly embezzling nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency investor funds to gamble on the Stake platform.Prosecutors accuse him of posing as a cryptocurrency investment expert working for a market master named "The Chef," promising clients high returns while actually using the funds for gambling. Last month, a federal grand jury indicted him on 21 counts, including 7 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of international money laundering, and 3 counts of making false statements to IRS criminal investigators.On Thursday, Redzepagic pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $500,000 bail.

The U.S. Department of Justice officially released a typical case, sentencing Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, to 20 years in prison for a $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, having been convicted of wire fraud and money laundering for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 90,000 investors worldwide.The 61-year-old Ramil Ventura Palafox holds dual citizenship in the United States and the Philippines, operating Praetorian Group International (PGI) as its chairman and CEO. Palafox falsely claimed that PGI was engaged in Bitcoin trading and promised daily returns of 0.5% to 3%. However, the scale of PGI's Bitcoin trading was insufficient to meet the promised returns, constituting a Ponzi scheme.From December 2019 to October 2021, at least 90,000 investors worldwide invested over $201 million in PGI, including at least $30.295289 million in fiat currency and at least 8,198 Bitcoins valued at $171.498528 million. Due to Palafox's actions, investors suffered total losses of at least $62.692007 million.

According to Coindesk, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony to 8 years in prison this Tuesday. Braden was found guilty of multiple federal charges last year for committing fraudulent acts against investors in his digital asset business.According to the U.S. Department of Justice's allegations, Karony was involved in manipulating the price of SafeMoon tokens and stole millions of dollars through illegal liquidity control of the company. After a three-week trial, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Co-conspirator Thomas Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in February 2025 and has not yet been sentenced. Another alleged co-conspirator in the SafeMoon fraud case, Kyle Nagy, is still wanted by authorities.It is reported that SafeMoon (SFM) is a cryptocurrency token launched in March 2021, born during the last bull market's meme coin and DeFi craze. Its tokenomics stipulate a 10% tax on each transaction, with a portion (usually 5%) automatically distributed to all holders, another portion added to the liquidity pool, tokens burned to create deflation, and a part allocated for project development. The design concept is to "encourage holding and punish selling," allowing holders to passively earn tokens, with hopes that the price can "safely go to the moon." Its market cap once reached $1 billion, attracting a large number of retail investors and FOMO players. Subsequently, the project contract was hacked, the team was accused of fraud, manipulating liquidity, and misappropriating funds. After a prolonged decline, its current market cap is only $2.08 million.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a man named Daren Li, who holds dual citizenship in China and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced in absentia to the maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, along with 3 years of supervised release, by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 9 local time, for his involvement in a global cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme involving over $73 million.The Department of Justice stated that the 42-year-old Li pleaded guilty in November 2024, admitting to participating in a transnational cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering conspiracy operating from a scam hub in Cambodia. However, he fled after cutting off his electronic ankle monitor in December 2025 and is currently still at large.Prosecutors revealed that the fraud ring actively contacted victims through social media, phone calls, text messages, and online dating platforms to establish "professional or romantic relationships" to gain trust, and used fake cryptocurrency trading platforms and phishing websites to lure victims into investing in false projects. In some cases, they also impersonated customer service or technical support personnel, deceiving victims into transferring funds or moving cryptocurrency assets under the pretext of "fixing viruses."According to the plea agreement, Li and his accomplices caused at least $73.6 million in victim fund losses, of which $59.8 million was laundered through U.S. shell company accounts and further converted into cryptocurrency to conceal the sources and flows of the funds. Li was found to have directly participated in the final receipt and control of the victim funds.So far, 8 accomplices have pleaded guilty, and Li is the first defendant to be sentenced for directly receiving the illicit funds. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service with assistance from law enforcement agencies in multiple countries. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that it will continue to promote international cooperation in an effort to extradite Li back to the U.S. to serve his sentence.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the first case of violation of the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" in South Korea has been sentenced. The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced the CEO of a cryptocurrency trading company to 3 years in prison for manipulating coin prices, along with a fine of 500 million won (approximately 385,000 USD) and the recovery of about 846 million won (approximately 650,000 USD). However, considering Mr. Lee's active cooperation during the trial and his prior detention, the court decided not to revoke his bail and did not detain him.The court found that between July and October 2024, he used an automated trading program to inflate trading volume and repeatedly placed false buy orders to manipulate prices, with improper gains amounting to about 7.1 billion won (approximately 5.46 million USD). This case is the first to be transferred by the prosecution through the financial regulatory "fast track" since the law took effect in July 2024.

According to CoinDesk, a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York revealed that Rui-Siang Lin, the alleged operator of the dark web drug marketplace Incognito Market, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Tuesday. This marks the conclusion of one of the largest cases involving an online drug market since the Silk Road case.U.S. prosecutors stated that the operators of the dark web market Incognito Market used cryptocurrency and anonymous tools to conceal their identities, but investigators ultimately linked them to the platform through domain records and digital footprints. Rui-Siang Lin operated under the online alias "Pharaoh." He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit drug offenses, money laundering, and conspiracy to sell adulterated and falsely labeled drugs. Prosecutors indicated that the platform facilitated over $105 million in illegal drug transactions between October 2020 and March 2024, completing more than 640,000 transactions and serving hundreds of thousands of buyers worldwide.