Washington Man Jailed 5 Years for $97 Million Crypto Laundering

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A federal court in Seattle sentenced Geoffrey Auyeung to 5 years in prison on Tuesday for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The 47-year-old Newcastle, Washington resident helped overseas fraudsters move victim funds from a fake oil-and-gas escrow scheme.

Inside the Crypto Laundering Operation

According to prosecutors, Auyeung created at least 9 business entities to receive money from investors. His co-schemers told victims they were buying oil tank storage in Rotterdam or Houston, with profits to be generated from renting the tanks.

Once deposits landed in accounts Auyeung controlled, he shifted the money offshore or converted it into crypto, including Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), USDC (USDC), and Ethereum (ETH), through Gemini, BitStamp, and Coinbase.

Much of that crypto then flowed to Binance accounts controlled by individuals in Nigeria and Russia. Victims received no updates on their investments, and the schemers simply went silent.

The press release revealed that Auyeung opened at least 81 bank accounts at 24 financial institutions, as well as 19 accounts across 8 crypto exchanges. Between June 2022 and July 2024, those accounts took in $97.1 million in third-party transfers.

All the deposits were flagged by the government as proceeds of fraud. US District Judge John C. Coughenour said his sentence reflected the scale of the conduct.

“The scope and magnitude of this fraud. The defendant had every reason to know there was something wrong here… even taking money after the indictment,” Coughenour stated.

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Commissions Kept Flowing After The Indictment

Auyeung earned more than $4 million in commissions for hiding the proceeds. He demanded higher fees as he grew more aware of the fraud, court records show.

His arrest in August 2024 did not stop him. Through December 2025, he collected another $400,000 by routing deposits into bank accounts held in his wife’s name.

“Auyeung spent 16 months secretly still communicating with his co-conspirators and continuing to get his illicit fees by having the money go to his wife’s bank accounts. He showed utter disrespect for the law,” First Assistant US Attorney Floyd remarked.

Auyeung is forfeiting roughly $2.3 million seized from his accounts and home, an Audi SQ8, and will not contest civil forfeiture of $7.1 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies held in wallets. The government has requested $24.7 million in restitution, a figure now before a magistrate judge.

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