A 47-year-old resident of Newcastle, Washington, was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to a Tuesday press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Geoffrey K. Auyeung helped overseas fraudsters move nearly $100 million in proceeds from investment scams through bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges.
"Mr. Auyeung facilitated a fraud, developed by others, that stole investor money while lulling them with promises of a legitimate escrow account," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd.
The DOJ said Auyeung established at least nine entities to receive funds from victims who believed they were investing in the oil and gas industry. From around August 2022 through August 2024, co-conspirators persuaded victims to transfer money to purported escrow accounts to purchase oil tank storage in various locations, promising substantial profits.
Once the funds were deposited into the accounts Auyeung set up, they were quickly transferred to other accounts, moved offshore, or converted into cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC through exchanges such as Gemini, Coinbase, and BitStamp.
