Crypto Scam Capers: 46 Months, Banks, and Borders

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  • Jingliang Su was handed 46 months for laundering over $36.9 million sourced from 174 U.S. victims.
  • Stolen funds were converted to USDT and whisked to Cambodia scam centers via fake trading platforms.
  • DOJ issues a public warning as global scam networks exploit digital assets and social-media outreach.

The modern financial world sometimes feels like a carousel designed by someone with a mischievous sense of humor and a fondness for loopholes. A Chinese national, Jingliang Su, has just found out what happens when you treat cryptocurrency as a piggy bank and forget that banks do not tolerate being raided with gleeful abandon. He’ll be spending roughly four years in federal custody after laundering more than $36.9 million from unsuspecting victims, with the operation allegedly operating out of scam centers in Cambodia. A judge named Klausner, who clearly enjoys long titles and short patience, ordered Su to cough up about $26.8 million in restitution as well.

International Network Targeted 174 Americans

Su admitted in June 2025 to conspiracy to run an illegal money-transmitting business. The Department of Justice pulled back the curtain far enough to reveal an international network that treated American investors like a buffet on which fraud was the main course. In total, investigators identified 174 U.S. victims who watched their savings evaporate in the same dramatic fashion as a magician’s rabbit.

The scammers reached people through every conceivable channel-unsolicited social media messages, phone calls, texts, and dating apps-because apparently the only thing more persuasive than a salesman is a criminal with excellent timing and a scary understanding of human psychology. Their goal was simple but devious: earn trust and then slip in fraudulent investment opportunities. Relationships were built slowly, like a suspicious sunburn, until the pitch looked almost legitimate.

According to DOJ, a U.S. court sentenced Chinese national Jingliang Su to 46 months in prison for laundering over $36.9 million from a crypto investment scam that targeted 174 U.S. victims. Su helped move funds from fake trading platforms, converting them into USDT and…

– Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain)

Fake Trading Platforms Deceived Investors

Every level of the operation was designed to mislead. Co-conspirators created websites that looked like real, respectable cryptocurrency trading platforms. Victims believed they were putting money into genuine exchanges, sending funds with dreams of handsome returns, only to watch those dreams dissolve faster than ice cubes in a tropical drink.

The scammers offered false updates showing investments growing. In reality, the money vanished into criminal accounts, and the victims were left staring at screens that offered nothing but the sound of their own disbelief.

Money Laundering Through Bahamas and Cambodia

The DOJ’s outline reads like a travel brochure for criminals. Victim funds flowed from U.S. bank accounts into a single Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas. From there, Su and friends directed the money to be converted into Tether (USDT), a stablecoin that makes moving money across borders feel like riding a very fast, very predictable train.

From the Bahamas, the USDT migrated to a digital wallet in Cambodia controlled by co-conspirators. They then parceled the loot out to various leaders of the scam network across the region, like a benevolent but deeply misguided charity drive-if the charity drive were funded by fraud and poor life choices.

Eight Co-Conspirators Face Justice

Su isn’t the only one staring down a prison sentence. Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far. Jose Somarriba and ShengSheng He admitted to conspiracy charges; He drew 51 months, Somarriba 36 months. Su has been in federal custody since December 2024, and the legal drumbeat continues.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli urged investors to be cautious with new opportunities, hinting that prevention might be cheaper than curing fraud’s hangover. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, with international aid from Dominican National Police. The Criminal Division reports more than 180 cybercriminal convictions since 2020 and over $350 million returned to victims, underscoring a persistent, if imperfect, worldwide attempt to dismantle scam centers.

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2026-02-01 19:53