The U.S. Department of Justice said Lu Zhang, Justin Walker, Joseph Wong and Hailong Zhu were charged with cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, the four individuals allegedly conspired to open shell companies and bank accounts to launder funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment scams and other fraudulent schemes. They transferred funds to domestic and international financial institutions. The overall fraud scheme of the related fraud group involved at least 284 transactions and caused victims to lose more than 80 million US dollars. More than 20 million US dollars of victim funds were directly deposited in banks related to the defendants. account. The U.S. Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case.
The scam scheme involves scammers seeking out victims through dating services, social media or through unsolicited messages or phone calls. The scammer builds a relationship with the victim and slowly gains trust, eventually introducing the idea of using cryptocurrencies for business investments.