U.S. Looks to Grab $7.1M in Crypto From Investment Scam

TheCryptoTimesPublicado em 2025-07-10Última atualização em 2025-07-23

The U.S. authorities are planning to seize $7.1 million in cryptocurrency linked to a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme. The alleged scam scheme ran between June 2022 and July 2024.

The co-conspirators of the scam convinced victims to send money to escrow accounts for oil tank storage purchases in either Rotterdam, the Netherlands or Houston, Texas. They lured investors by saying that they could earn significant profits by renting oil tank storage obtained by others.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) noted that once victims sent funds to one of the accounts, they did not receive any further information on their investment, and the co-conspirators stopped responding. The co-conspirators moved the funds offshore to at least 81 different accounts at financial institutions and 19 different cryptocurrency accounts. The stolen funds were then used to purchase various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum.

Acting U.S. Attorney Luthy Miller said, “The co-schemers in this fraud moved their ill-gotten gain through various cryptocurrency accounts to try to launder the money stolen from victims… Federal investigators and prosecutors in our office moved as quickly as possible to trace and seize the cryptocurrency so that some of the losses can be returned to victims.”

Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, a resident of Newcastle, Washington, was indicted as a co-conspirator in the case last year in Aug. He was charged with receiving a majority of the fraudulent proceeds from the scheme.

When Auyeung was arrested, $2.3 million was seized from his bank accounts. And the $7.1 million in cryptocurrency the government is requesting to forfeit is in addition to the funds seized during his arrest. The forfeited money will also be distributed back to the victims pending the court’s approval of the forfeiture.

Also Read: Hong Kong Police Arrest Four in DGCX XinKangJia Crypto Scam

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