A Washington state man has been charged with washing methods from a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme as federal prosecutors move to recover $7.1 million in code for the victims.
Jeffrey Aujung of Newcastle is faced with allegedly conspiring to wash funds from funds claimed to be a $97 million fraud that promised investors’ profits from leases of oil tank storage in Houston and Rotterdam.
The victim reportedly sent money to shell companies disguised as escrow agents, including Sea Forest International, Apex Oil and gas deals.
“The conspirators of this scam have driven fraudulent profits through various cryptocurrency accounts in an attempt to wash the money stolen from the victims.” statement on tuesday.
Prosecutors allege that some funds are routed through US banks, foreign accounts and at least 19 crypto wallets, linked to IP addresses and exchanges in Russia and Nigeria.
This case highlights the increase in the use of cryptography International fraud and laundry Networks, particularly those operating across loosely regulated or hostile jurisdictions.
It also shows that the Department of Justice relies on blockchain tracing to recover assets related to cross-border financial crime.
“Contrary to popular belief, tracking funds is easier on public blockchains than traditional finance,” says Andrew Runardi, director of growth and author of the immutable growth. Magical moneyI said Decryption. “Blockchain provides an immutable record of every transaction.”
Lunardi said that transparency has made blockchain forensics a powerful asset in criminal investigations.
“Using sophisticated intelligence tools such as Chain Orisis, companies can conduct large-scale, in-depth research with high accuracy across the digital asset situation and follow the flow of funds,” he said.
A Justice Department investigation found that Auyeung tiered transactions and “at least in part, all designs manage a network of fake companies used to hide and disguise control of nature, location, source, ownership and wirefullard revenues. Appeal.
He moved victims’ deposits through more than 80 bank accounts and nearly 20 crypto wallets, eventually converting revenues into Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and US dollar coins.
Several transactions have flowed through exchanges with US banks, such as Gemini and Binance. Decryption I contacted both exchanges for comments.
Prosecutors have said that funds have been routed through US banks, foreign accounts and at least 19 crypto wallets, and some have been linked in exchange for Russian and Nigerian IP addresses, including platforms where the money has allegedly been washed for terrorist groups and authorized entities.
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