Fugitive sentenced to 20 years for $73 million crypto scam

A dual Chinese and St. Kitts and Nevis national has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia for his involvement in an international cryptocurrency investment scheme, often referred to as a "pig butchering" scam, which defrauded victims of over $73 million, Bleeping Computer reports. These scams typically involve criminals building trust with targets online before introducing fraudulent investment schemes, ultimately leading to the theft of victims' cryptocurrency.

The sentenced individual, 42-year-old Daren Li, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to launder funds. He was arrested in April 2024 but fled the country in December 2025 after removing his ankle monitor, becoming a fugitive. Li and his co-conspirators operated from Cambodia, using a network of money launderers to move over $73 million stolen from American victims through U.S. bank accounts linked to shell companies. Funds were then transferred to various accounts and cryptocurrency platforms, including Tether, to obscure their origins. Investigators also found over $341 million in cryptocurrency in one of the fraud ring's wallets.

Li is the first of eight co-conspirators to be sentenced in this scheme. The Justice Department has also charged additional suspects in separate, but similar, large-scale pig butchering operations. The FBI's 2024 Internet Crime Report highlights a significant increase in investment scam losses, with over $6.5 billion stolen in the past year, underscoring the growing threat of sophisticated online fraud.

Source: Bleeping Computer