Geoffrey K. Auyeung of Newcastle, Washington, was sentenced after prosecutors said he helped launder about $97.1 million from an oil-and-gas investment fraud by converting funds into crypto assets.
Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a Newcastle, Washington, man, was sentenced to five years in prison for helping launder proceeds from an oil-and-gas investment fraud that prosecutors said stole about $97.1 million from victims between 2022 and 2024. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors said he converted funds into BTC, ETH, USDT and USDC, earned about $4 million in commissions, and authorities seized more than $2.3 million in bank deposits, about $7.1 million in crypto assets, and a car. The case shows how fraud proceeds can be moved through both traditional financial accounts and digital assets to obscure their origin before recovery efforts by law enforcement.