2026-02-09 (sentenced) · US

Daren Li sentenced over $73 million crypto scam laundering, 2026

Sentence handed down.

Daren Li, 42, a dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced in absentia in the Central District of California to 20 years in prison for conspiring to launder funds from cryptocurrency scams carried out from scam centres in Cambodia. DOJ said unindicted members of the conspiracy contacted victims through unsolicited social media messages, phone calls and dating services, then steered them to fake crypto trading platforms or posed as customer support. Li directed others to open US bank accounts for shell companies that received victim money before it was converted to virtual currency. He pleaded guilty in November 2024, then cut off his ankle monitor and absconded in December 2025.

$73.6M (stolen; Victim funds DOJ says the conspiracy laundered. It includes at least $59.8 million that passed through US shell companies; that figure is part of the total, not additional.)

Timeline

1. 2024-11-12 Li pleads guilty to conspiring to launder funds from cryptocurrency scams.
2. 2025-12-01 In December 2025 Li cuts off his electronic ankle monitor and absconds.
3. 2026-02-09 Li is sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison; DOJ says he remains a fugitive and that eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty.

Lessons

• Treat any stranger met online who steers you to a crypto trading platform as a scam, however long the friendship has lasted.
• Check that an investment platform is registered with your financial regulator before sending money, and never pay a fee to withdraw your own funds.
• Banks should scrutinise newly opened business accounts that receive many unrelated consumer payments and quickly convert them to crypto.

Scam types: Pig butchering, Fake trading platform or app

Sources

1. DOJ Office of Public Affairs: Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for role in $73 million global cryptocurrency investment scam (Law enforcement, primary, accessed 2026-09-24)