PANews reported on June 10 that according to the U.S. Department of Justice, five men pleaded guilty to participating in a Cambodian digital asset investment fraud case and laundering more than $36.9 million. The fraud was carried out by a fraud center located in Cambodia, and the victims were mainly U.S. citizens. The suspects contacted the victims through social media, phone calls, text messages and online dating platforms, lured them to invest in fake digital assets, and transferred the funds to accounts controlled by accomplices for money laundering operations.

The fraudulent funds were eventually converted into stablecoin USDT and transferred to the leaders of the fraud center in Cambodia. The suspects, including US residents Joseph Wong, Jose Somarriba, Shengsheng He, Chinese citizen Yicheng Zhang, and Jingliang Su, who has both Chinese and Turkish identities, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money or operate an unlicensed money service business and face up to 20 years or 5 years in prison.

Eight accomplices have pleaded guilty, including Daren Li, who had lived in Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates, and other people responsible for the money laundering network. The case was jointly investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations and other departments, and prosecuted by multiple prosecutors.