Justice Department Charges Geoffrey K. Auyeung with 64 million Dollar Cryptocurrency Laundering Scheme

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a resident of Newcastle, Wash., has been indicted in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency money laundering scheme and faces "conspiracy to launder money, as well as nine counts of launder money by concealment or expenditure." Auyeung, who was arrested on Aug. 12, defrauded investors by posing as an escrow agent for oil and gas investments, and then transferred client funds to accounts under his control, the DOJ said. "Once the funds entered an account controlled by Auyeung, the money was quickly transferred to other accounts, transferred overseas, or used to purchase cryptocurrencies, including BTC, USDT, USDC, and ETH, through cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gemini, Bitstamp, and Coinbase." Investigators from the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have traced the flow of $64 million into 74 different bank accounts linked to Auyeung. The indictment calls for the forfeiture of about $2.30 million seized from Auyeung's bank accounts. "Millions of wire fraud proceeds that were converted to cryptocurrency were frozen and awaiting seizure. HSI has identified 22 victims for a combined loss of $7.70 million. However, law enforcement believes more victims may emerge," the Justice Department noted.