Summary

  • A 47-year-old Seattle-area resident was implicated in defrauding investors of close to $100 million, according to prosecutors.
  • Investors believed they were contributing to oil and gas ventures, but their funds were swiftly redirected to bank accounts or cryptocurrency exchanges without being returned.
  • Geoffrey K. Auyeung received a five-year prison sentence for his involvement in laundering funds related to this fraudulent scheme.

Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a 47-year-old individual from the Seattle area, has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering connected to a cryptocurrency fraud operation that scammed victims out of nearly $100 million.

Arrested in 2024, Auyeung pleaded guilty in February and was tasked with receiving fraudulent proceeds and transferring them to the bank accounts or cryptocurrency wallets of his accomplices in forms such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins like USDT and USDC.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd stated, “Mr. Auyeung facilitated a fraud, developed by others, that stole investor money while lulling them with promises of a legitimate escrow account.”

Floyd further noted, “Even after his indictment and arrest, Auyeung continued to communicate with his co-conspirators for 16 months, continuing to receive his illicit fees by directing the funds to his wife's bank accounts. He demonstrated complete disregard for the law.”

From 2022 to 2024, Auyeung and his associates convinced victims to send money under the pretense of investing in the oil and gas sector. However, upon receiving the funds, he redirected them to bank accounts or cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gemini, Bitstamp, and Coinbase to acquire digital assets.

Ultimately, most of the acquired crypto tokens were sent to the prominent exchange Binance, and victims were left without further communication from Auyeung.

Between June 2022 and July 2024, Auyeung’s accounts received approximately $97.1 million in wire transfers and other deposits, which the authorities believe to be proceeds from fraud.

Prosecutors indicated that Auyeung utilized multiple accounts and entities to obscure scrutiny, claiming he “rapidly converted vast sums of fiat funds into cryptocurrency, which he then quickly dispersed to various deposit addresses provided by his co-conspirators.”

He accrued at least $4 million in commissions for his involvement and is forfeiting over $2.3 million seized from his bank accounts at the time of his arrest, in addition to a vehicle and $7.1 million taken from cryptocurrency wallets.