Chinese national extradited to US over $36.9M Cambodia-based crypto scam
Zheng Zhao faces a money laundering conspiracy charge over a scheme that prosecutors say targeted 174 Americans.
SECURITY & HACKS
Lukas Brenner
10/23/20261 min read
Zheng Zhao, a 44-year-old Chinese national, has been extradited from the Netherlands to Los Angeles in a case involving a Cambodia-based crypto investment scam, the US Department of Justice announced on October 23. He was ordered detained and is scheduled for arraignment on November 30. Zhao was charged in August 2025 with conspiracy to commit money laundering and is presumed innocent.
Prosecutors allege the scheme targeted 174 identified Americans. More than $36.9 million moved from US accounts controlled by participants into a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas. Prosecutors say Zhao and others arranged for the money to be converted into Tether's USDT and sent to a wallet controlled in Cambodia. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty. ShengSheng He, a former co-owner of Axis Digital Limited, was sentenced to 51 months and Jingliang Su to 46 months, each with a restitution order of about $26.9 million. Dutch authorities worked with the Justice Department on the arrest, and the Secret Service is leading the investigation.
Source: crypto.news.