Tech
Fugitive behind $73M ‘pig butchering’ scheme gets 20 years in prison
A dual Chinese and St. Kitts and Nevis national was sentenced to 20 years in prison in absentia for his role in an international cryptocurrency investment scheme (also known as pig butchering or romance baiting) that defrauded victims of more than $73 million.
In pig butchering scams, criminals use messaging apps, dating platforms, and social media accounts to build trust with their targets before introducing fraudulent investment schemes. In the end, rather than investing the funds to deliver the promised huge profits, the scammers drain victims’ cryptocurrency wallets.
42-year-old Daren Li pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to launder funds obtained through “pig butchering” scams operated from centers in Cambodia after his April 2024 arrest at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
However, Li fled in December 2025 after cutting off his ankle monitor, becoming a fugitive before sentencing in California federal court. In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, he also received three years of supervised release after the prison term.
“As part of an international cryptocurrency investment scam, Daren Li and his co-conspirators laundered over $73 million dollars stolen from American victims,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division. “The Court’s sentence reflects the gravity of Li’s conduct, which caused devastating losses to victims throughout our country.”
Court documents revealed that Li and co-conspirators were part of an international crime syndicate that used a network of money launderers to move millions stolen from dozens of victims to U.S. bank accounts linked to approximately 74 shell companies, then transferred funds to domestic and international accounts and cryptocurrency platforms to conceal their origins.
He instructed accomplices to open bank accounts and transfer more than $73 million to Deltec Bank in the Bahamas for conversion into cryptocurrency, including Tether. The investigators also discovered more than $341 million in cryptocurrency in one of the crypto wallets the fraud ring used for money laundering.
Li is the first defendant directly involved in receiving victim funds to be sentenced among eight co-conspirators who have also pleaded guilty.
The Justice Department charged four additional suspects in December with involvement in another pig butchering scheme linked to over $80 million in losses.
The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report noted that investment scammers stole over $6.5 billion from 47,919 victims, up from $4.57 billion in 2023.
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