Dual citizen from China and St. Kitts and Nevis pleads guilty to $73 million ‘pig slaughtering’ crypto scam

The investment scheme included the laundering of $73 million using bitcoin. Daren Li, who is a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, pled guilty to the charges.

One count of conspiracy to conduct money laundering in a $73 million “pig slaughtering” cryptocurrency fraud was accepted on Tuesday by Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis.

U.S. Department of Justice statement from Tuesday states that the 41-year-old man acknowledged to laundering victim cash totaling at least $73.6 million via a network of shell businesses and foreign bank accounts as part of crypto investment schemes.

According to the Department of Justice, Li directed his accomplices to create American bank accounts in the name of shell firms. He then oversaw the process of converting victim cash to USDT and then had them sent to cryptocurrency wallets that he controlled.

The DOJ argued that Li might still be apprehended even if he committed the crime from a foreign country. The Central District of California was notified of Li’s arrest in April at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

When sentenced on March 3, 2025, Li may spend as much as 20 years behind bars. To pull off a “pig butchering” scam, con artists would often get their victims to trust them and then get them to invest large quantities of money before disappearing with the money. Such schemes have been a source of worry for regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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