Chinese national Jingliang Su has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for his involvement in laundering over $36.9 million from victims of a digital asset investment scam that targeted Americans. The scam operated out of centers in Cambodia and resulted in the loss of funds for at least 174 individuals in the United States. In addition to his prison sentence, Su has been ordered by the court to pay $26,867,242.44 in restitution.
According to information presented in court, Su was part of an international network that deceived U.S. victims into transferring money to accounts managed by co-conspirators. These funds were then laundered through U.S.-based shell companies, international bank accounts, and digital asset wallets. The fraudulent scheme typically began with unsolicited contact via social media, phone calls, text messages, or online dating platforms. Victims were persuaded to invest through fake websites designed to look like legitimate cryptocurrency trading platforms.
After convincing victims that their investments were growing, the scammers transferred more than $36.9 million from U.S.-controlled accounts to an account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas. There, the funds were converted into Tether (USDT), a type of stablecoin cryptocurrency, and moved to a digital wallet controlled from Cambodia. From this point, additional transfers sent the USDT to leaders running scam centers across the region.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated: “This defendant and his co-conspirators scammed 174 Americans out of their hard-earned money...The Criminal Division and its law enforcement partners have continued to evolve and caught large-scale scammers, who target people through their phones, social media, and fake internet sites, steal from them, and then move their money through cryptocurrency and wire transfers outside of the United States.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California commented: “New investment opportunities may sound intriguing, but they have a dark side: attracting criminals who, in this case, stole then laundered tens of millions of dollars from their victims...I thank our law enforcement partners for their efforts at bringing this defendant to justice and I encourage the investing public to be cautious. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
So far eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty as part of this case. Among them are Jose Somarriba and ShengSheng He; both admitted guilt for conspiracy charges related to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and received sentences of 51 months and 36 months respectively.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center with support from Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force as well as other federal agencies including Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Prosecution was handled by Trial Attorneys Stefanie Schwartz (Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section) and Tamara Livshiz (Fraud Section), along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maxwell Coll, Alexander Gorin, and Nisha Chandran for the Central District of California.
The sentencing is part of ongoing efforts by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division—working with offices nationwide—to investigate global scam center operations using expertise in cybercrime prevention as well as seizure or forfeiture of crime-linked cryptocurrency assets.
Since 2020, CCIPS has achieved convictions against more than 180 cybercriminals while helping secure over $350 million for victims affected by similar crimes.
Victims or those aware of digital asset investment fraud are encouraged to report incidents at IC3.gov.
