U.S. Department of Justice: Four people were charged with huge cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering, causing losses of more than $80

On December 15th, the US Department of Justice revealed that Lu Zhang, Justin Walker, Joseph Wong, and Hailong Zhu have been charged with cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering. According to court documents, the individuals are suspected of conspiring to set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder funds from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and other fraudulent schemes.

They transferred funds to domestic and international financial institutions, and the overall fraud scheme of the related fraud group involved at least 284 transactions, resulting in victims losing more than 80 million US dollars, with more than 20 million US dollars of victim funds directly deposited into bank accounts related to the defendants. The US Secret Service Global Investigative Action Center is investigating the case.

According to court documents, the "pig-killing scam" fraud scheme includes scammers finding victims through dating services, social media, or unsolicited messages or calls. Scammers establish relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust, ultimately introducing the idea of using cryptocurrency for business investment.