A Chinese national named Jingliang Su has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for his involvement in a major cryptocurrency fraud scheme targeting American investors.
On January 27, 2026, federal courts ordered Su to serve his sentence and pay $26.9 million in restitution to victims.
The case represents a significant law enforcement victory against international financial crime networks that exploit digital assets to steal from unsuspecting Americans.
This criminal operation impacted 174 victims across the United States who lost a combined $36.9 million in fraudulent digital asset investments.
The scam operated through coordinated international operations based in Cambodia, where criminal networks orchestrated elaborate schemes to deceive victims.
Su and his co-conspirators used social media platforms, phone calls, text messages, and online dating services to establish false trust with potential victims.
The criminals then promoted fake digital asset investment opportunities through counterfeit websites designed to mimic legitimate cryptocurrency trading platforms.
Victims believed they were investing in genuine cryptocurrency platforms when they were actually transferring funds directly into accounts controlled by the scam network.
The Office of Public Affairs, US Department of Justice, noted that this case demonstrates how criminals have weaponized the internet and digital financial systems for large-scale fraud operations.
Law enforcement agencies including U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection worked together to dismantle the criminal network and trace the flow of stolen money.
Money Laundering Infrastructure and Digital Asset Misuse
The most significant aspect of this operation involved the sophisticated money laundering infrastructure that Su helped establish.
After victims sent funds to shell company bank accounts, Su and his associates coordinated the transfer of $36.9 million to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas.
From there, the criminal network converted the stolen money into Tether (USDT), a stablecoin cryptocurrency designed to maintain stable value.
This conversion step proved critical to the scheme because it allowed the criminals to move money across international borders quickly while avoiding traditional banking oversight.
Su then directed the transfer of converted cryptocurrency to a digital asset wallet controlled in Cambodia, where regional scam center leaders distributed funds throughout Southeast Asia.
This layered approach using legitimate cryptocurrency infrastructure made tracing the money exceptionally difficult for law enforcement.
Su’s guilty plea in June 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business reflected his central role in managing the financial backbone of this international fraud operation.
Eight co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty, with sentences ranging from 36 to 51 months in prison.
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