A Washington state man who laundered $97 million in fraudulent proceeds through a fake oil-and-gas escrow scheme – converting victims' cash into Bitcoin, Tether, USDC and Ethereum along the way – was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison. Geoffrey Auyeung, 47, of Newcastle, Wash., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Federal prosecutors say he created at least nine shell companies to receive deposits from people tricked into investing in phony tank-storage deals in Rotterdam and Houston.
How the scheme worked
Auyeung didn't run the oil-and-gas fraud himself. Instead, he set up a chain of business entities that looked legitimate – bank accounts at 24 different institutions, plus 19 crypto exchange accounts at Gemini, BitStamp and Coinbase. Victim money flowed in, Auyeung converted it into cryptocurrency, then shipped much of it to Binance accounts controlled by individuals in Nigeria and Russia. His cut: over $4 million in commissions.
Between June 2022 and July 2024, his accounts received $97.1 million in third-party transfers. Every dollar was flagged as fraud proceeds by the institutions that processed them, but by then the money was already moving.
The crypto trail
Auyeung used the three exchanges to convert victim deposits into Bitcoin, Tether, USDC and Ethereum. From there, the crypto traveled to Binance wallets held by overseas co-conspirators. The government says it has traced and seized approximately $2.3 million from various accounts, plus an Audi SQ8. Auyeung has agreed not to contest civil forfeiture of another $7.1 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies linked to the scheme.
After the arrest, he kept going
Even after federal agents arrested Auyeung in August 2024, the money didn't stop. Court filings show he continued collecting at least $400,000 through December 2025 by routing new deposits to his wife's bank accounts. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the sentence reflected the sheer scale of the fraud, noting that Auyeung took money even after the indictment was filed.
The government is now asking for $24.7 million in restitution. A magistrate judge will decide the final amount. Auyeung also faces potential additional orders from related civil forfeiture proceedings.
