Daren Li gets 20 years for $73.6M global crypto pig-butchering scam

A dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis was sentenced to 20 years in US federal prison for orchestrating a global cryptocurrency scam that stole more than $73 million from victims, many of them American investors. Forty-two-year-old Daren Li received the statutory maximum in the Central District of California and was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, the US Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Li and at least eight co‑conspirators set up spoofed domains and websites that resembled legitimate trading platforms to promote fraudulent crypto investments, a tactic known as pig butchering or phishing. The group often made initial contact through social media and dating apps, cultivated professional or romantic relationships, then persuaded victims to transfer funds into accounts controlled by the defendants.

Li admitted that the scheme funneled at least $73.6 million into accounts tied to the defendants, including $59.8 million routed through US shell companies used to launder victim funds.

United States, Central District of California

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