California Man Sentenced to Over Four Years for Laundering $37 Million in Stolen Crypto

HKAN | Sep 10

A California man has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for laundering nearly $37 million in stolen cryptocurrency through a Cambodia-based investment scam. The scheme involved a network of global accomplices and was tied to a large-scale international crypto fraud operation.

The defendant, Shengsheng He, co-owned Axis Digital Limited, a shell company based in the Bahamas. He used this company to convert stolen funds into Tether (USDT), a stablecoin, and then routed them through U.S. banks to digital wallets controlled by scam operators in Cambodia.

In addition to the prison sentence, He was ordered to pay $26.9 million in restitution to the victims of the scam. The case is part of a broader crackdown by U.S. authorities on international cryptocurrency fraud schemes.

This sentencing underscores the U.S. government's commitment to combating cryptocurrency-related crimes and holding perpetrators accountable, regardless of their location.