Crypto has another scam story to narrate. A Chinese national was alleged of laundering $36.9 million to Cambodian scam centers via cryptocurrency. A Child Protection Advisor by the name Jacob in Cambodia shared on X that the culprit, Jingliang Su, 44, laundered millions using the infamous pig-butchering scam techniques.
On January 27, Judge R. Gary Klausner of the US Federal Court for the Central District of California sentenced a 46-month imprisonment for Jingliang Su.
How was the $36.9 million pig-butchering scam executed?
The alleged culprit stole millions through Axis Digital, a Bahamas-based shell company, which was then converted to Tether’s USDT stablecoins. The converted tokens, USDT, were then sent to scam centers in Cambodia. For readers’ information, a shell company does not have any active business activities and acts as a pass-through entity.
Pig-butchering is a commonly seen online scam in crypto, where a criminal initially builds trust among the investors, steals their money, and disappears. Typically, these scammers befriend victims, chat for long-term, and build a trustworthy relationship. Eventually, victims fall for the words of scammers and then invest money, unaware of the trick.
Jingliang Su is reportedly a part of a large scam network. The group of scammers has tricked nearly 174 Americans. They have networks spread across multiple regions, including California.
Authorities have caught a key player in the crime at Atlanta airport for laundering nearly $73 million from similar scams. “Eight co-conspirators have now pleaded guilty.”
Are crypto scams increasing?
It would be quite easy to answer this question, as an increasing number of cases are being reported. In 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized approximately $8.2 million worth of crypto connected to pig-butchering via online messaging and dating apps.
According to Hackless, a DeFi security team traced five crypto scams alone in December 2025, including a $340,000 loss in pig butchering, $89,000 via phishing, $127,000 in an NFT airdrop, $52,000 in a fake job recruit, and $15,000 via a Telegram recovery scam.
According to Sheena, a crypto enthusiast, scammers drained nearly $17 billion in 2025, which could climb even higher this year. While investment scams continue to surge, the proof of security incidents is evident as 2026 began with several significant exploits, including Truebit Protocol, SagaEVM blockchain exploit, and more.
