Four men and women are charged with laundering more than 10 billion yen in the Chinese romance scam 'Pig Killer'
On December 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the California State Department was accused of remitting 80 million dollars (approximately 11.3 billion yen), which was extorted from victims in romance scams using dating services, etc., domestically and internationally. It was announced that four men and women in their 30s and 40s living in Illinois have been charged with money laundering.
Office of Public Affairs | Four Individuals Charged for Laundering Millions from Cryptocurrency Investment Scams | United States Department of Justice
Four charged by feds, accused of running an $80 million 'pig butchering' scheme
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/four-charged-feds-accused-running-80-million-pig-butchering-scheme-rcna129811
US detains suspects behind $80 million 'pig butchering' scheme
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/us-detains-suspects-behind-80-million-pig-butchering-scheme/
The problem this time was a fraudulent method that was popular in China and has spread all over the world. It takes time to defraud victims of money, as if they were fattening a pig and then butchering it. 'PigButchering ' in English.
In many cases, 'pig killers' contact their victims by pretending to be a mistaken call or send unsolicited messages, gradually building a relationship of trust and inviting them to invest in virtual currency. Victims are then lured to fake investment platforms and encouraged to invest, but end up being unable to withdraw their funds and incur huge losses.
The US Department of Justice has accused Lu Chan (36-year-old female), Justin Walker (31-year-old male), and Joseph Wong (32-year-old 40-year-old male) and Hailong Zhu (40-year-old male) were indicted.
All four people indicted are charged with money laundering, concealed money laundering, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. In addition, Chan and Walker, who had already been arrested, attended a court hearing held in Los Angeles federal court on December 13th and pleaded not guilty.
Chan was subsequently ordered into custody and Walker was released on bond. The trial is scheduled for February 6, 2024, and if convicted in court, the suspects could face up to 20 years in prison.
The series of 'pig killings' involved at least 284 transactions, with damages estimated to exceed $80 million. The four conspired to create dummy companies and bank accounts, laundered the funds, and transferred them to financial institutions both domestically and overseas. Of the damages, $20 million (approximately 2.8 billion yen) was transferred to the suspects' bank accounts. It had been transferred.
The damage caused by 'pig killers' who use romance and trusting relationships as bait to defraud people out of virtual currency, etc., continues to grow. In its 2022 (PDF file)
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