A federal judge sentenced Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a 47-year-old Newcastle, Washington resident, to five years in prison on June 9, 2026, for conspiracy to commit money laundering in a scheme that moved nearly $100 million in fraud proceeds through bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges.
TLDR Key Points
- Geoffrey K. Auyeung was sentenced to five years for laundering nearly $100 million in fraud proceeds through 81 bank accounts and 19 crypto exchange accounts.
- Prosecutors requested $24.7 million in restitution, and Auyeung agreed not to contest forfeiture of about $7.1 million in seized cryptocurrency.
- Auyeung continued collecting commissions through his wife’s accounts even after his indictment, adding $400,000 between August 2024 and December 2025.
What the five-year sentence covers
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced the sentence after an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation. Auyeung pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors asked the court for $24,707,031 in restitution. Auyeung also agreed to forfeit about $2.3 million seized from his bank accounts and home, and not to contest the civil forfeiture of approximately $7.1 million in cryptocurrency seized from wallets linked to Russian and Nigerian IP addresses.
A related DOJ civil action filed on July 22, 2025 had already sought forfeiture of that $7.1 million in crypto, which was seized in December 2024. The restitution amount was referred to a magistrate judge for further proceedings.
How the laundering operation worked
Between June 2022 and July 2024, accounts controlled by Auyeung received $97.1 million in domestic and international wire transfers that prosecutors said were fraud proceeds from overseas schemes. Auyeung opened at least 81 bank accounts at 24 financial institutions and 19 accounts at eight cryptocurrency exchanges to move the funds.
The fraud proceeds were converted into Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum through exchanges including Gemini, BitStamp, and Coinbase. Much of the cryptocurrency was then transferred to Binance accounts controlled by individuals in Nigeria and Russia.
Auyeung received at least $4,078,348 in commissions for his role. The DOJ said he did not stop after being indicted, instead using his wife’s bank accounts to accept an additional $400,000 in commissions between August 2024 and December 2025. That post-indictment conduct is a detail that lawmakers debating crypto compliance rules may find relevant as they weigh enforcement adequacy.
Why the case matters for crypto enforcement
The scale of the account infrastructure, spanning 24 banks and eight crypto exchanges, highlights gaps in cross-platform monitoring that compliance teams at traditional financial institutions handling crypto will need to address. The case shows how a single individual can exploit fragmented oversight across both banking and crypto rails simultaneously.
The fact that Auyeung continued laundering after indictment, and that authorities traced the crypto to wallets associated with IP addresses in Russia and Nigeria, underscores the cross-border dimension that makes crypto-related money laundering cases particularly complex for investigators.
For exchanges and compliance officers, the case reinforces that federal prosecutors are willing to pursue significant prison time, not just fines, for individuals who facilitate laundering through crypto infrastructure. The combined forfeiture and restitution figures, potentially exceeding $34 million, also signal that asset recovery is a priority in these prosecutions as crypto markets continue to evolve under increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
