中国籍男子被从荷兰引渡到洛杉矶受审：被控参与柬埔寨诈骗园区加密骗局、174 名美国人受害
洛杉矶——美国司法部10月23日宣布，44岁的中国籍男子 Zheng Zhao 已被从荷兰引渡至美国，当天在洛杉矶的联邦法院首次出庭。法官下令将其羁押，提讯定于11月30日在洛杉矶市中心的美国联邦地区法院举行。检方指控他参与一个以柬埔寨王国诈骗园区为基地、针对美国公民的国际加密货币投资骗局，迄今已确认174名美国受害者。
根据法庭文件，该团伙先由海外同伙通过社交媒体上的主动搭讪、电话、短信和在线交友服务接触美国受害者，以建立专业或恋爱关系取得信任，再推销虚假的数字资产投资；同伙搭建了仿冒真实加密货币交易平台的假网站，诱使受害者经假网站汇款「投资」，并谎称投资正在增值，实际上资金已被窃走。赃款经美国空壳公司、国际银行账户和数字钱包层层洗白：超过3,690万美元的受害者资金从同伙控制的美国银行账户汇入巴哈马 Deltec Bank 的一个账户，按安排兑换成稳定币泰达币（USDT），再转入一个由柬埔寨一方控制的数字钱包，最终分发给该地区各地诈骗园区的头目。
司法部表示，若罪名成立，Zheng Zhao 将面临最高20年联邦监禁。司法部同时强调，刑事诉状仅为指控，被告在被法庭依法证明有罪之前推定无罪。
本案已有8名同伙认罪，其中 ShengSheng He 与 Jingliang Su 分别因共谋经营无牌汇款业务被判51个月和46个月联邦监禁。案件由美国特勤局（USSS）全球调查行动中心主查，国土安全调查局（HSI）El Camino Real 金融犯罪任务组、海关与边境保护局（CBP）国家目标中心、国务院外交安全局和美国法警局提供协助；司法部国际事务办公室与荷兰当局密切合作完成逮捕与引渡。本案是司法部刑事司「网络赋能诈骗倡议」（Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative）的一部分。
第一助理联邦检察官 Bill Essayli 表示：「当无辜的美国人受到网络罪犯及其帮手的伤害时，我们和全球各地的伙伴会不懈地确保他们在美国法庭上接受审判。」
来源：GSM·美国
Chinese National Extradited From the Netherlands to Los Angeles, Charged in Cambodia Scam-Center Crypto Fraud
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 23 that Zheng Zhao, 44, a Chinese national, has been extradited from the Netherlands to the United States and made his initial court appearance that day in federal court in Los Angeles. A judge ordered him detained, with arraignment scheduled for November 30 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Prosecutors charge that he took part in an international cryptocurrency investment conspiracy run from scam centers in the Kingdom of Cambodia that targeted U.S. citizens; 174 U.S. victims have been identified so far.
According to court documents, overseas co-conspirators first contacted U.S. victims through unsolicited social media interactions, telephone calls, text messages and online dating services, building professional or romantic relationships to gain their trust before promoting fraudulent digital asset investments. The co-conspirators created fake websites resembling real cryptocurrency trading platforms and convinced victims to send funds through them, telling victims their investments were appreciating when the money had in fact been stolen. The proceeds were laundered through U.S. shell companies, international bank accounts and digital asset wallets: more than $36.9 million in victim funds was transferred from U.S. bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators to a single account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas, converted to the stablecoin Tether (USDT) as arranged by Zhao and others, and transferred to a digital asset wallet controlled in Cambodia, from where co-conspirators distributed the USDT to the leaders of scam centers throughout the region.
If convicted, Zhao faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The Justice Department stressed that a criminal complaint is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Eight co-conspirators have pleaded guilty so far, including ShengSheng He and Jingliang Su, who were sentenced to 51 months and 46 months in federal prison respectively for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service's Global Investigative Operations Center, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations' El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked closely with Dutch authorities to secure Zhao's arrest and extradition. The case is part of the Criminal Division's Cyber-Enabled Scam Initiative.
"When innocent Americans are harmed by cybercriminals and their enablers, we and our partners around the globe will relentlessly ensure they face justice in a U.S. courtroom," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Source: GSM·USA
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：洛杉矶联邦法院大楼群（资料图）。 Photo: Neil Lockhart via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
