Four Individuals Charged in US for Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud and Money Laundering

According to Foresight News, the US Department of Justice has disclosed that Lu Zhang, Justin Walker, Joseph Wong, and Hailong Zhu have been charged for cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering. Court documents reveal that the individuals allegedly conspired to set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder funds from cryptocurrency investment scams and other fraudulent schemes. They transferred the funds to domestic and international financial institutions, with the overall fraud scheme involving at least 284 transactions and causing victims to lose over $80 million. Over $20 million of the victims' funds were directly deposited into bank accounts associated with the defendants. The US Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center is currently investigating the case. The 'pig-butchering' fraud scheme, as described in the court documents, involved scammers seeking victims through dating services, social media, or unsolicited messages or phone calls. The scammers would establish relationships with the victims and gradually gain their trust, eventually introducing the idea of using cryptocurrency for business investments.