Joseph Wong, Money Laundering, California 2025

LOS ANGELES – A network of con artists and money launderers has crumbled after five men pleaded guilty to their roles in a sprawling, $36.9 million digital asset investment scam. The scheme preyed on American victims, promising returns on investments that never materialized, instead funneling the stolen funds through a labyrinth of shell companies and international bank accounts.

The Justice Department revealed that the operation originated in scam centers located in Cambodia, where co-conspirators aggressively targeted U.S. citizens through social media, phone calls, texts, and even online dating platforms. Once trust was established, victims were lured into investing in bogus digital assets, believing their money was growing when, in reality, it was being siphoned off to offshore accounts.

Key players in the laundering operation included Joseph Wong, 33, of Alhambra; Yicheng Zhang, 39, of China; Jose Somarriba, 55, of Los Angeles; Shengsheng He, 39, of La Puente; and Jingliang Su, 44, of China and Turkey. Somarriba and He established Axis Digital, a shell company used to open an account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas. Over $36.9 million in stolen funds was routed through this account, then converted to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and transferred to digital wallets controlled by scam operatives in Cambodia, specifically in Sihanoukville.

Su joined Axis Digital as a director, actively participating in the conversions and transfers. Meanwhile, Wong oversaw a network of money launderers in Los Angeles, tasked with registering shell companies, opening U.S. bank accounts, and wiring funds to international destinations. Zhang independently operated two U.S. bank accounts used for the same purpose. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment operation; it was a carefully constructed system designed to obscure the origin and destination of stolen money.

Zhang and Wong both pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, each facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Zhang has been in custody since May 2024. He, Somarriba, and Su pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, carrying a maximum penalty of five years each. Su is already behind bars, having been arrested in November 2024, and is scheduled for sentencing on November 17. These guilty pleas come on the heels of eight other co-conspirators already admitting their involvement in the scheme.

The U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center spearheaded the investigation, with crucial assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Dominican National Police, and U.S. Marshals. While these convictions represent a significant blow to the network, authorities warn that digital asset scams continue to pose a serious threat, and potential victims should exercise extreme caution before investing in online opportunities. The investigation remains ongoing.

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