A federal court in California has sentenced Daren Li, a 42-year-old dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, to 20 years in prison for his lead role in a massive $73 million cryptocurrency money laundering syndicate.
The sentencing, handed down in absentia on Monday, February 9, 2026, follows Li’s absconding from justice in December 2025 by tampering with his electronic monitoring device while on pre-trial release.
Dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam https://t.co/pEMgJ3Ye1c
— US Attorney L.A. (@USAO_LosAngeles) February 9, 2026
Li previously pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Investigations revealed he managed an international network that processed tens of millions of dollars stolen from victims through pig butchering scams. These schemes involved unindicted co-conspirators building long-term trust with victims via social media and dating apps before luring them into fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms like CoinZoom.
Court documents show that Li and his associates utilised a sophisticated web of 74 US-based shell companies to receive victim funds. These proceeds were then systematically converted into the stablecoin Tether ($USDT) and transferred to offshore accounts, including those at Deltec Bank in The Bahamas.
Rising tide of pig butchering fraud
The syndicate’s operations were largely coordinated from scam centres in Cambodia, where Li held a leadership position in managing the bank accounts that received stolen funds. Evidence from encrypted Telegram messages showed Li instructing co-conspirators on how to open shell company accounts and monitoring the conversion of fiat currency into digital assets.
Chinese national Jingliang Su received a 46-month federal prison sentence for laundering $36.9 million from a pig butchering cryptocurrency scam. The scheme manipulated 174 victims via social media and dating apps into depositing funds into fake trading platforms. U.S. authorities traced the stolen assets through shell companies and international banks, emphasizing global challenges and their growing capability to track digital flows.
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