2 SoCal men arrested in $80M pig butchering cryptocurrency scam KTLA Los Angeles | Makemetechie.com Summary
News Summary
- After initiating a relationship with their victims and establishing trust, the scammers direct them to other members of the scheme who are “operating fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms and applications, where victims are persuaded to make financial investments,” the release explains..
- Pig butchering, a phrase derived from a foreign-language term used to describe the same fraudulent scheme, occurs when thieves con victims on dating services and social media platforms or through unsolicited calls pretending to be a wrong number into making business investments using cryptocurrency..
- Once victims put money in scammer-controlled accounts, the fraudulent investment platform will show fake financial gains meant to encourage victims to invest more money..
- All four men have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment of money laundering and international money laundering..
- Two of the men, 36-year-old Alhambra resident Lu Zhang and 31-year-old Cypress resident Justin Walker were arrested by federal agents on Dec. 12, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California..
- Federal authorities are currently searching for the other two men, 32-year-old Rosemead resident Joseph Wong and 40-year-old Naperville, Illinois resident Hailong Zhu..
Three Southern California men, along with a fourth defendant, have been charged with conspiring to open shell companies and bank accounts to launder funds from victims caught in cryptocurrency invest [+2105 chars]
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