U.S. prosecutors seek to recover $7.1 million in cryptocurrency tied to oil and gas investment fraud

PANews reported on July 23 that according to The Block, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington has filed a civil recovery lawsuit for $7.1 million in cryptocurrencies involved in an oil and gas investment fraud case. Prosecutors accused 47-year-old Geoffrey K. Auyeung and his accomplices of deceiving investors into transferring funds to so-called "crude oil tank escrow accounts" and promising to make profits by leasing tank space.

The investigation showed that the funds involved were transferred to 81 different accounts, of which $1.9 million was used to purchase assets such as Bitcoin, USDT, USDC and Ethereum through 19 cryptocurrency accounts. Auyeung was indicted for money laundering and other crimes in 2024, and $2.3 million in stolen money in his bank account had been seized. The prosecutor said it would speed up the recovery of funds to compensate the victims.