"For nearly two years, these two Chinese nationals allegedly ran a sophisticated, illicit network that laundered funds stolen from unsuspecting victims' life savings," noted Executive Associate Director John A. Condon of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Zhuoying Chen and Haojie Zhang
Federal prosecutors have charged 27‑year‑old Zhuoying Chen and 38‑year‑old Haojie Zhang for their roles in a money‑laundering network tied to large‑scale investment fraud. According to an unsealed indictment, Chen and Zhang managed a network of more than a dozen people based in Queens and Brooklyn between 2020 and 2022. U.S. authorities say the pair transferred at least $43 million in proceeds from investment scams into bank accounts in China.
The mechanics of the laundering network
Prosecutors describe a structured laundering operation that used roughly 45 shell companies to operate about 140 bank accounts. The indictment connects those accounts and corporate entities to the movement of at least $43 million in scam proceeds. The underlying frauds—described in court papers—relied on social media and messaging platforms: criminals cultivated trust with potential targets, showed fake profiles that displayed fabricated profits to encourage additional investment, and then stole funds when victims wired more money into the schemes.
Charges, penalties, and official statements
Chen and Zhang are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of that count, each faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division framed the case in operational terms: "As alleged in the indictment, the defendants laundered fraud proceeds, enabling scammers to continue to victimize Americans and deprive them of their hard earned money." HSI's John A. Condon emphasized the alleged duration and sophistication of the network in his statement.
Connected prosecutions and a broader enforcement push
The indictment sits amid an intensified series of enforcement actions targeting investment and cryptocurrency‑linked scams. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, cited by prosecutors, found that investment fraud made up 49% of all scam‑related incidents last year, producing reported losses of $8.6 billion—an increase from $6.5 billion in 2024. The Justice Department has pursued multiple related cases: in February, a fugitive tied to a $73 million international cryptocurrency investment scheme known as "pig butchering" was sentenced in absentia to 20 years, identified as 42‑year‑old Daren Li, noted as the first defendant directly involved in receiving victim funds to be sentenced among eight accomplices who pleaded guilty. In December, the department charged four additional suspects in another pig‑butchering scheme tied to more than $80 million in losses. In November, federal authorities established the Scam Center Strike Force after the Justice Department seized $15 billion from the leader of Prince Group, described as a massive criminal organization that targeted Americans through cryptocurrency investment scams. European authorities have also dismantled two investment fraud rings since the start of the year, attributed with estimated losses of over €150 million to victims worldwide.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and the public
- Technologists and security teams: the case underscores the role of social media and messaging platforms as vectors for recruitment and initial contact in investment fraud. Alerts tied to social channels and the movement of transaction flows through numerous shell accounts and corporate entities are central markers prosecutors have highlighted.
- Policymakers and law enforcement leaders: the indictment is one more signal of coordinated cross‑border laundering tied to crypto and wire transfers and sits alongside the DOJ's recent task‑force and large‑scale seizure activity, indicating continued emphasis on dismantling both the scam operations and their financial conduits.
- The public and victims: prosecutors stress that these schemes frequently target life savings; the indictment and agency statements frame the alleged laundering as enabling repeated victimization, a theme reinforced by the FBI's upward‑trending loss figures for investment fraud.
The indictment against Zhuoying Chen and Haojie Zhang links a localized New York network to a multiyear, multimillion‑dollar channel for laundering investment‑scam proceeds into China. It is part of a sequence of prosecutions and structural responses—from sentencing in absentia and additional charges to the creation of a dedicated Scam Center Strike Force—meant to stem rising losses documented by the FBI. Whether those enforcement moves will disrupt the financial plumbing that prosecutors say enabled repeated fraud remains the central question as cases advance through the courts.
