41-year-old dual citizen Daren Li has admitted guilt to a $73 million crypto laundering operation including many frauds and false investment platforms. After confessing to a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering in a federal court in California on November 11, Li runs major legal danger including up to 20 years in jail.
Court documents state that Li instructed others to register bank accounts in the United States under fake companies in order to hide the source and ownership of cash acquired through bitcoin crimes. Li and his friends then turned the large amounts of money victims deposited into these accounts into Tether (USDT), a stablecoin, and sent to under their control digital wallets. One of these wallets reportedly acquired an amazing $341 million in digital assets during the course of the scheme, proving the extent of the laundering network.
Authorities nabbed Li at Atlanta’s airport on April 12, and in May they caught Li’s suspected co-conspirator, Yicheng Zhang, in Los Angeles. Li could spend up to two decades in jail in addition to a fine of $500,000 or double the financial gain from the crime, whichever is higher. Her sentence is set for March 3, 2025. With estimates ranging from $4.5 million to $73 million, dependent on the eventual court decision, prosecutors have also said Li might have to pay the victims complete compensation.
