U.S. Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Laundering $97.1M in Fraud Through Bitcoin, Ethereum

According to Decrypt, on June 10, Geoffrey K. Auyeung from Seattle was sentenced to 5 years in prison for laundering cryptocurrency fraud proceeds from 2022 to 2024. Auyeung helped a criminal network deceive victims with fake oil and gas investment schemes totaling approximately $97.1 million, then converted the stolen funds into Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC to obscure money flows.

Prosecutors stated Auyeung earned at least $4 million in commissions. He continued communicating with co-conspirators even after arrest. Authorities seized over $2.3 million in bank deposits and approximately $7.1 million in cryptocurrency, with most funds having passed through Gemini, Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Binance.