CALIFORNIA – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced June 9 that five men, including three from California, admitted to laundering $36.9 million in Tether (USDT) stablecoins, linked to a scam based in Cambodia.
The below defendants were part of an international network that duped U.S. victims, believing they were investing in digital assets, to transfer funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators.
- Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra;
- Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China;
- Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles;
- Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente; and
- Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey.
They laundered victims’ money through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts and digital asset wallets.
Scammers targeted victims through social media
Co-conspirators overseas targeted U.S. victims through unsolicited social media, calls, texts and online dating services, building trust to facilitate the scams.
They lured victims into fake digital asset investments. They falsely claimed the investments were gaining profits but those funds were stolen and not invested at all.
Over $36.9 million in victim funds were funneled from U.S. bank accounts to a Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas, under Axis Digital Limited.
Somarriba, He, and Su instructed Deltec Bank to convert victims’ funds to USDT and transfer them to a wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia. Co-conspirators distributed the USDT to scam center leaders throughout the region including Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Zhang and Wong face up to 20 years in prison
Somarriba and He founded Axis Digital and opened the Deltec Bank account. Su joined Axis Digital as a director and participated in the digital asset conversions and transfers of victim funds.
Wong led a Los Angeles money laundering network using shell companies and bank accounts to move victim funds internationally. Zhang operated two U.S. bank accounts for laundering.
Zhang and Wong pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, each facing up to 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since 2024.
He, Somaririba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money service business. They face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
 announced June 9 that five men, including three from California, admitted to laundering $36.9 million in Tether (USDT) stablecoins, connected to a scam based in Cambodia.){kind=link}