Chinese National Extradited From the Netherlands to Los Angeles, Charged in Cambodia Scam-Center Crypto Fraud
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 23 that Zheng Zhao, 44, a Chinese national, has been extradited from the Netherlands to the United States and made his initial court appearance that day in federal court in Los Angeles. A judge ordered him detained, with arraignment scheduled for November 30 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors charge that he took part in an international cryptocurrency investment conspiracy run from scam centers in the Kingdom of Cambodia that targeted U.S. citizens; 174 U.S. victims have been identified so far.
According to court documents, overseas co-conspirators first contacted U.S. victims through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages and online dating services, building professional or romantic relationships to gain their trust before promoting fraudulent digital asset investments. The co-conspirators created fake websites resembling real cryptocurrency trading platforms and convinced victims to send funds through them, telling victims their investments were appreciating when the money had in fact been stolen. The proceeds were laundered through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts and digital asset wallets: more than $36.9 million in victim funds was transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, converted to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) as arranged by Zhao and others, and transferred to a digital asset wallet controlled in Cambodia, from where co-conspirators distributed the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region.
If convicted, Zhao faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The Justice Department stressed that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including ShengSheng He and Jingliang Su, who were sentenced to 51 months and 46 months in federal prison respectively for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service's Global Investigative Operations Center, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations' El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked closely with Dutch authorities to secure Zhao's arrest and extradition. The case is part of the Criminal Division's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative.
"When innocent Americans are harmed by cybercriminals and their enablers, we and our partners around the globe will relentlessly ensure they face justice in a U.S. courtroom," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Source: GSM·USA
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 洛杉矶联邦法院大楼群（资料图）。 Photo: Neil Lockhart via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
