A Chinese national has received a federal prison sentence for crimes related to money laundering. Cunwen Zhu, aged 45, was sentenced by United States District Judge Wendy Berger to serve 17 months after pleading guilty back in April to having been a part of a financial investment scam operation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida reported that Zhu played a role in laundering $470,000—a sum initially wired by a victim who was under the impression that their investment was funding an online brokerage account. Instead, this money, and likely others' investments, were funneled to various individuals for personal use.
Zhu, according to court documents, converted the money to cryptocurrency before sending it to an associate in China. He took a percentage from the transferred amount as his cut. In addition to his prison sentence, Zhu must also repay the victim the full $470,000 from the scam.
The investigation that brought Zhu's activities to light was conducted by the Secret Service's North Florida Cyber Fraud Task Force. The case then moved into the hands of Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro for prosecution. The sentencing sends a clear message about the consequences of engaging in such digital financial deceptions, albeit Zhu's role might have been just one link in a sprawling chain of similarly intricate economic cons.
