Naperville man 1 of 4 indicted in crypto scam

A Naperville man is one of four people indicted on federal charges connected to the laundering of proceeds from a cryptocurrency investment scam, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Hailong Zhu, 40, has been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment money laundering and international money laundering, a news release said. Facing the same charges are California residents Lu Zhang, of Alhambra; Justin Walker, of Cypress; and Joseph Wong, of Rosemead.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

“Zhang, Walker, Wong and Zhu allegedly conspired to open shell companies and bank accounts to launder victim proceeds of cryptocurrency investment scams — also known as ‘pig butchering’ — and other fraudulent schemes,” the release said.

“They allegedly transferred the funds involved in the fraud schemes to domestic and international financial institutions. The overall fraud scheme in the related pig-butchering syndicate involved at least 284 transactions and resulted in more than $80 million in victim losses.”

Pig butchering, a term derived from a foreign-language phrase used to described the crimes, is a practice in which scammers meet victims through social media, dating services, or unsolicited phone calls or messages, the release said.

Through the relationships they develop with them, the scammers persuade the victims to invest in a business using cryptocurrency by introducing them to other participants in the scheme.

“Once funds are sent to scammer-controlled accounts, the investment platform often falsely shows significant gains on the purported investment, and the victims are thus induced to make additional investments,” the release said. “Ultimately, the victims are unable to withdraw or recover their money, often resulting in significant losses for the victims.”