Van Charged Over Alleged $53 Million Crypto Laundering Romance Scam

Federal prosecutors charged Vietnamese national Trung Nguyen Van with laundering about $53 million in cryptocurrency allegedly stolen from U.S. victims through romance scams. Van appeared in court Friday as prosecutors accused him of moving the proceeds through crypto investments to conceal their source.

$16M Missouri Loss Traced To Van

An affidavit says a Missouri victim lost about $16 million between June and August 2024 after scammers directed the person to a fake crypto investment platform called Triangle. Investigators later traced more than $569,000 of the victim’s funds to a digital wallet linked to Van on Aug. 7.

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Two days later, six more transfers tied to victims reached the same wallet, according to the affidavit. Investigators said Van then moved nearly $568,000 in four transactions to private crypto wallets, moving the funds outside centralized exchanges.

Investigators Trace Wider Crypto Flows

Investigators say wallets linked to Van received about $53 million in cryptocurrency tied to wire fraud between February 2018 and December 2024.

The scams often began on dating apps, through text messages or on social media, according to authorities. After gaining victims’ trust, scammers directed them to fake investment platforms showing fabricated profits. Those apparent gains encouraged some victims to send more money, investigators said.

The FBI’s Kansas City office said it worked with other agencies and partners to prevent further losses and track the movement of the funds.

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