Man
Professional
- Messages
- 2,965
- Reaction score
- 488
- Points
- 83
How "pig slaughterhouses" on the Internet grew into an international criminal scheme.
41-year-old Daren Lee pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money obtained from the Pig Butchering Scam cryptocurrency scam. Lee is accused of laundering millions of dollars with accomplices using shell companies and international bank accounts.
The investigation began in September 2022, when law enforcement officers found out that the criminal group was using fraudulent investment schemes for money laundering. A man with dual citizenship of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, together with accomplices, managed to launder more than $73 million stolen from victims of criminal schemes with cryptocurrency.
Even though Lee operated outside the United States, this did not save him from justice. In April 2023, Lee was arrested at the Atlanta airport, after which he was taken to a California court. And in December 2023, four participants in the scheme were charged.
Lee admitted that he organized a scheme with other participants in order to hide and transfer the stolen money. Lee was the leader of the group and used encrypted messengers to communicate with accomplices, and also supervised the opening of bank accounts for 74 shell companies.
Victims transferred money to accounts, after which the funds were converted into the Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency and distributed to the wallets of the scheme participants. In total, at least $73.6 million passed through accounts associated with Lee and his partners, of which more than $59.8 million came from shell companies in the United States. Lee's sentencing will be on March 3, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Source
41-year-old Daren Lee pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money obtained from the Pig Butchering Scam cryptocurrency scam. Lee is accused of laundering millions of dollars with accomplices using shell companies and international bank accounts.
The investigation began in September 2022, when law enforcement officers found out that the criminal group was using fraudulent investment schemes for money laundering. A man with dual citizenship of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, together with accomplices, managed to launder more than $73 million stolen from victims of criminal schemes with cryptocurrency.
Even though Lee operated outside the United States, this did not save him from justice. In April 2023, Lee was arrested at the Atlanta airport, after which he was taken to a California court. And in December 2023, four participants in the scheme were charged.
Lee admitted that he organized a scheme with other participants in order to hide and transfer the stolen money. Lee was the leader of the group and used encrypted messengers to communicate with accomplices, and also supervised the opening of bank accounts for 74 shell companies.
Victims transferred money to accounts, after which the funds were converted into the Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency and distributed to the wallets of the scheme participants. In total, at least $73.6 million passed through accounts associated with Lee and his partners, of which more than $59.8 million came from shell companies in the United States. Lee's sentencing will be on March 3, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Source
