Prosecutors allege a bank-to-USDT laundering role in a case involving 174 identified US victims; no new repayment figure was announced.

A Chinese national accused of helping launder $36.9 million from crypto scam victims has been extradited to the United States.

Zheng Zhao, 44, appeared in a Los Angeles federal court on Oct. 23 after his extradition from the Netherlands, where authorities had detained him in connection with an international fraud network operating from scam centers in Cambodia.

The US Department of Justice said a judge ordered Zhao detained pending further proceedings. He was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in August 2025 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Prosecutors allege Zhao helped a criminal network move millions of dollars stolen from 174 identified American victims through US shell companies, international bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.

The operation began with fraudsters approaching victims through social media, dating platforms, telephone calls and text messages. They promoted fraudulent crypto investments through websites designed to resemble legitimate trading platforms, showing fabricated investment gains to encourage further deposits.

Investigators traced more than $36.9 million in stolen funds from US bank accounts controlled by the conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas.

Zhao and other participants allegedly arranged for the bank to convert the funds into Tether's USDT stablecoin before transferring the crypto to a wallet controlled by individuals in Cambodia.

The digital assets were later distributed to leaders of scam centers across the region, giving the network a way to move proceeds outside the conventional banking system.

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