A person who holds citizenship in each China and St. Kitts and Nevis has acquired a 20-year sentence in the US for working a big cryptocurrency fraud operation.
The scheme collected greater than $73 million from victims worldwide, together with many within the US.
The US Division of Justice (DOJ) said on February 10 that Daren Li was given the utmost jail time period allowed within the Central District of California. He can even face three years of supervised launch.
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Officers famous that Li has been a fugitive since December 2025, when he eliminated his monitoring monitor and disappeared.
Prosecutors defined that Li and several other companions created faux web sites that seemed like professional buying and selling platforms. They used these websites to persuade people to put money into fraudulent funding alternatives, a tactic typically described as a pig-butchering rip-off.
Investigators discovered that the group normally contacted folks via social media or relationship apps. The aim was to kind a pleasant or romantic connection. As soon as that they had gained victims’ belief, they directed them to maneuver cash into accounts managed by the group.
Assistant Legal professional Basic A. Tysen Duva mentioned the sentence displays the seriousness of the scheme and famous that authorities will proceed to work with worldwide companions to return Li to custody.
Li admitted that he and his companions persuaded victims to ship no less than $73.6 million to accounts tied to the group. Courtroom filings state that almost $60 million moved via US shell corporations to cover the funds’ supply.
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