New York man sentenced to four years in prison for allegedly manipulating $7 million cryptocurrency investment scheme

Douglas Jae Woo Kim was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison for defrauding investors of more than $7 million in cryptocurrency and other funds, according to a U.S. Supreme Court announcement. The sentence was announced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Charles R. Breyer.
In a three-week trial in February 2025, Kim, a 32-year-old New York resident, was convicted by a federal jury of 14 counts of telegraphic transfer fraud, international money laundering and money laundering, and acquitted of one count of international money laundering. At today's sentencing hearing, Judge Breyer dropped one count of money laundering by monetary instruments on jurisdictional grounds. Court documents and trial evidence show that Kim, who moved to San Francisco between October 2017 and June 2020, defrauded multiple family and friends investors by disguising himself as a legitimate cryptocurrency trader. He falsely claimed to need short-term liquidity for cryptocurrency trading or other legitimate business purposes, assured victims of loans with "zero or very low risk," promised high returns, and claimed to have enough funds for personal guarantees.