A judge has sentenced a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis to 20 years in federal prison for his role in an crypto scheme that scammed Americans out of $73 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice says 42-year-old Daren Li remains on the run after cutting off his ankle electronic monitoring device and fleeing in December.
Nevertheless, a judge has sentenced him in absentia for his role in the scam carried out from Cambodia.
Li pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring with others to launder funds obtained from victims through the crypto scheme.
The scammers contacted victims through unsolicited social-media interactions, telephone calls and online dating services. Once gaining their trust, the scammers would then convince the victims to allocate funds to domains and websites they had set up to resemble legitimate crypto trading platforms.
Of the $73.6 million stolen, about $59.8 million was laundered through US shell companies. Li, who monitored the flow of the stolen money, admitted to directing his fellow scammers to open US bank accounts for the shell companies to receive and transfer the ill-gotten gains, which were ultimately converted into cryptocurrencies.
Li is the first defendant to be sentenced who directly received the stolen funds, while eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to date.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva says that the DOJ “will work with our law enforcement partners around the world to ensure that Li is returned to the United States to serve his full sentence.”
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