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Fugitive Crypto Scam Organizer Daren Li Receives 20-Year Sentence in Absentia

Prosecutors say he laundered more than $73 million through U.S. shell firms into cryptocurrency.

Overview

  • A federal judge in the Central District of California imposed the statutory maximum prison term plus three years of supervised release.
  • Li fled supervision in December 2025 after cutting off his electronic monitoring device, and authorities are seeking his return to serve the sentence.
  • Prosecutors describe a Cambodia-based network that groomed victims through unsolicited social-media outreach, dating platforms, spoofed crypto sites, and tech-support ruses.
  • Court filings attribute at least $73.6 million in victim funds to the ring, including about $59.8 million routed through U.S. shell companies before conversion to crypto.
  • Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty, and Li is the first defendant directly involved in receiving victim funds to be sentenced following a multi-agency probe led by the U.S. Secret Service.