U.S. prosecutors recently charged a New York couple involved in a substantial criminal network that laundered funds obtained from a cyber investment scam.
Zhuoying Chen, aged 27, and Haojie Zhang, 38, allegedly oversaw a network of over a dozen individuals operating from Queens and Brooklyn between 2020 and 2022.
As outlined in an unsealed indictment, Chen and Zhang are accused of utilizing 140 bank accounts across approximately 45 shell companies to move at least $43 million in proceeds from investment fraud to bank accounts in China.
The fraudulent scheme involved criminals engaging potential victims via social media and messaging platforms, building trust to lure them into fake investment opportunities. Victims were presented with false profiles showcasing supposed benefits, prompting them to invest more funds, which were subsequently stolen.
“For nearly two years, these two Chinese nationals allegedly operated a sophisticated illicit network laundering funds stolen from the savings of unsuspecting victims,” stated John A. Condon, Executive Associate Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Assistant Attorney General A. Theisen Duva from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division added, “As alleged in the indictment, the defendants laundered fraud proceeds, enabling fraudsters to continue to victimize Americans and rob them of their hard-earned money.”
If convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, both Chen and Zhang face a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, investment fraud constituted 49% of all fraud-related incidents last year, with reported losses reaching $8.6 billion, a significant increase from $6.5 billion in 2024.
Earlier this year, a fugitive linked to a $73 million international cryptocurrency investment scam, referred to as pig butchering and romance baiting, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison. Darren Lee, 42, became the first defendant to be sentenced directly for his role in receiving victim funds, among eight co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in the same case.
In December, the Justice Department indicted four additional suspects connected to a separate hog slaughtering scheme, which resulted in losses exceeding $80 million.
In November, U.S. federal authorities launched the Fraud Center Strike Force, a dedicated task force aimed at disrupting cryptocurrency fraud networks after the Department of Justice seized $15 billion from the leaders of the Prince Group, a significant criminal enterprise targeting Americans with fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.
Since the beginning of the year, European authorities have dismantled two investment fraud rings that caused estimated losses of over 150 million euros to victims worldwide.
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Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com