This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A civil action has been filed seeking the forfeiture of $7.1 million in cryptocurrency seized as part of an investigation linked to an oil and gas-related investment fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
Newcastle, Washington, resident Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, was indicted as a co-conspirator in the case in Aug. 2024 and charged with receiving a majority of the fraudulent proceeds from the scheme.
Cryptocurrency forfeiture filed for WA residents’ investment fraud scheme
The $7.1 million in stolen funds were seized by Homeland Security Investigations in Dec. 2024, and part of roughly $97 million taken by the co-conspirators between June 2022 and July 2024.
“The co-schemers in this fraud moved their ill-gotten gain through various cryptocurrency accounts to try to launder the money stolen from victims,” Acting U.S. Attorney Luthy Miller said. “Federal investigators and prosecutors in our office moved as quickly as possible to trace and seize the cryptocurrency so that some of the losses can be returned to victims.”
The co-conspirators convinced victims to send money to escrow accounts for oil tank storage purchases in either Rotterdam, Netherlands, or Houston, Texas. They indicated to investors that they could return significant profits by renting oil tank storage obtained by others.
Victims of the scheme sent money to accounts linked to entities Sea Forest International LLC, Apex Oil and Gas Trading LLC, Navigator Energy Logistics LLC, Terminal Energy International Escrow Service LLC, Energo Horizons Logistics (EA) LLC, Legacy Energy Logistics Transport Group LLC, and Green Tree Gateway LLC.
The DOJ noted that once victims sent funds to one of the accounts, they did not receive any further information on their investment, and the co-conspirators stopped responding.
The funds received were promptly moved to one or more of at least 81 different accounts at financial institutions, moved offshore, or moved to one or more of at least 19 different cryptocurrency accounts. The stolen funds were used to purchase a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum.
The cryptocurrency accounts seized were linked to individuals in Russia and Nigeria, according to the forfeiture filing. Additionally, some of the crypto was also sent to cryptocurrency exchanges in Russia and Nigeria, at least one of which is alleged to have facilitated money laundering for transnational criminal organizations, including terrorist organizations that violate international trade sanctions.
While Auyeung was arrested, $2.3 million was seized from his bank accounts, and the $7.1 million in cryptocurrency the government is requesting to forfeit is in addition to the funds seized during his arrest.
Investigators have identified dozens of victims who had been defrauded out of roughly $17.9 million, and investigators believe that number will continue to grow as additional victims are identified. The forfeited money will also be distributed back to the victims pending the court’s approval of the forfeiture.
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