California Man Gets 51 Months for Laundering $37M in Cambodia-Based Crypto Scam

California resident Shengsheng He received a 51-month federal prison sentence for laundering $36.9 million from victims in an international crypto investment scam operated from Cambodia-based centers.

The court ordered $26.8 million in restitution for victims of the elaborate scheme.

He, 39, of La Puente, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business as a former co-owner of Bahamas-based Axis Digital Limited.

The criminal network induced U.S. victims to transfer funds through social media interactions, telephone calls, and online dating services.

California Man Sentenced for Role in Global Digital Asset Investment Scam Conspiracy Resulting in Theft of More than $36.9M from Victimshttps://t.co/vgp0wEys4J

The conspiracy involved overseas co-conspirators contacting American victims through unsolicited communications to gain trust before promoting fraudulent digital asset investments.

Scammers falsely told victims their investments were appreciating while stealing the transferred funds.

According to the DOJ, over $36.9 million in victim funds flowed from U.S. bank accounts to a single Deltec Bank account in the Bahamas opened under Axis Digital Limited’s name.

He and co-conspirators directed the bank to convert victim funds into Tether stablecoin and transfer converted funds to Cambodia-controlled digital wallets.

Cambodian co-conspirators then distributed USDT to scam center leaders throughout the region, including operations in Sihanoukville.

The money laundering infrastructure spanned multiple countries while maintaining the appearance of legitimate business operations.

Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty, including Chinese national Daren Li, in U.S. custody since April 2024, and Lu Zhang, who managed U.S.-based money launderer networks. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering charges.

He co-founded Axis Digital with Jose Somarriba, while Chinese national Jingliang Su joined as director, participating in digital asset conversions.

Somarriba and Su each pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses.

The Justice Department has secured increasingly severe sentences for crypto-related crimes throughout 2025.

In May, Alex Mashinsky, former Celsius CEO, received 12 years in prison for defrauding customers of $4.7 billion through fraudulent lending practices and token manipulation.

Prosecutors had sought 20 years for Mashinsky, calling his actions “deliberate and calculated” rather than market misjudgment.

He admitted to using customer deposits to pay promised yields while making risky, unsecured loans and falsely claiming financial stability.

Similarly, in July, Nicholas Truglia saw his sentence increased from 18 months to 12 years after failing to pay $20.4 million in restitution from a $22 million crypto fraud scheme.

The judge criticized Truglia’s lavish lifestyle while owing victims substantial amounts.

That same July, Rowland Marcus Andrade received seven years for wire fraud and money laundering linked to AML Bitcoin, raising $10 million through false promises about cryptocurrency capabilities.

He laundered over $2 million for personal expenses, including Texas real estate and luxury vehicles.

A crypto influencer has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for orchestrating a cryptojacking scheme.#Scam #Cryptohttps://t.co/OfGtd5pd18

Most recently, in an August 18 ruling, Charles Parks III, known as “CP3O,” received one year for cryptojacking schemes that defrauded cloud computing providers of $3.5 million in resources.

He used fake corporate identities to mine nearly $1 million worth of crypto using stolen computing power.

These enforcement patterns indicate federal authorities are pursuing lengthy sentences for crypto crimes regardless of scale.

Cases range from million-dollar schemes to multi-billion-dollar platform collapses with consistent emphasis on victim restitution.

Crypto fraud losses reached $2.2 billion in the first half of 2025, according to CertiK security reports.

Wallet breaches caused $1.7 billion in losses across 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for $410 million across 132 attacks.

The Cambodia-based scam network targeting American victims follows established patterns of international criminal organizations exploiting crypto’s cross-border capabilities.

U.S. Treasury sanctions 19 Myanmar, Cambodia entities for crypto scams that defrauded Americans of over $10B through forced labor.#Crypto #Scamhttps://t.co/SanmDSbFAu

Recent Treasury sanctions against 19 Myanmar and Cambodia entities revealed the scope of forced labor operations behind these scams.

In fact, the US Treasury mentioned that the scam networks have defrauded Americans of over $10 billion in 2024 alone.

These criminal organizations use debt bondage and violence to coerce victims into targeting American citizens, mainly through crypto fraud schemes.

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