A Chinese national named Zhen Zhao was recently arraigned in California after being extradited from the Netherlands. He is accused of participating in a cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded nearly $37 million from 174 victims across the United States.
The scheme, known as a pig butchering or romance baiting scam, involved cybercriminals contacting targets through social media, dating sites, and messaging apps. They built trust with victims before luring them into fake investment schemes, stealing their money instead of investing it as promised.
Prosecutors allege that Zhao and his accomplices in the United States and Cambodia tricked victims into transferring large sums of money to attacker-controlled accounts. They claimed the funds would be invested in digital assets but instead converted the money into the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and transferred it to a digital asset wallet controlled in Cambodia.
The criminal ring used fake websites resembling real cryptocurrency trading platforms to convince victims to send funds. Victims transferred over $36.9 million from U.S. bank accounts to an account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, opened under the name Axis Digital Limited. Zhao was charged in August 2025 with conspiracy to commit money laundering and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if found guilty.
Eight of Zhao's accomplices have already pleaded guilty, with two of them sentenced to 51 months and 46 months in prison. According to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, investment scammers stole over $8.6 billion last year, up from $6.5 billion in 2024.