PANews reported on June 10 that Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a resident of Newcastle, Washington, has been sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to launder money. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that Auyeung helped overseas fraudsters transfer nearly $100 million in investment fraud proceeds through bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges. He set up at least nine entities to receive funds from victims who mistakenly believed they were investing in the oil and gas industry.

Funds were quickly transferred to other accounts, overseas, or converted into Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC through exchanges such as Gemini, Coinbase, and BitStamp. Most of the cryptocurrency was subsequently sent to Binance accounts controlled by individuals in Nigeria and Russia. Auyeung opened 81 bank accounts and 19 cryptocurrency exchange accounts, receiving a total of $97.1 million, from which he earned at least $4 million in commissions. Even after being prosecuted, he continued to operate under his wife's name, collecting an additional $400,000 in commissions.