Catenaa, Saturday, July 26, 2025- US prosecutors are moving to recover $7.1 million in cryptocurrency tied to a fraudulent oil and gas investment scheme allegedly orchestrated by Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, who was indicted last year on multiple money laundering charges.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington filed a civil action Tuesday to seize the funds, which were allegedly funneled through a complex web of accounts in an effort to conceal stolen proceeds.
Authorities claims Auyeung and his associates tricked victims into transferring funds into what were claimed to be escrow accounts to purchase oil tank storage in Houston or Rotterdam. Instead of investing the money, the funds were dispersed across 81 bank accounts and 19 cryptocurrency wallets, where they were used to acquire bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, USDC and other digital assets.
About $2.3 million was seized from Auyeung’s personal bank accounts at the time of his arrest in 2024. The rest is now the focus of ongoing recovery efforts.
The case is part of broader federal efforts to crack down on financial fraud involving digital currencies and complex laundering networks.
