TechFlow, June 10 — According to Cointelegraph, five members of an international cryptocurrency fraud ring have admitted their involvement in a $36.9 million scam targeting victims in the United States, with the illicit funds ultimately transferred to Cambodia.
The five defendants—Joseph Wong, Yicheng Zhang, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He, and Jingliang Su—contacted victims through social media, instant messaging platforms, and dating apps, gained their trust, and then lured them into investing in fake cryptocurrency projects. The scammers used shell companies and U.S. bank accounts to collect the funds, which were later converted into Tether (USDT) and sent to cryptocurrency wallets controlled in Cambodia.
Zhang and Wong face up to 20 years in prison due to their guilty pleas, while the other three could each receive up to five years in prison.
