Crypto-Fraud Scam: California Man Files Lawsuit Against 3 Asian Banks

• California resident Ken Liem filed a lawsuit against 3 Asian banks on December 31st, 2024.
• The lawsuit alleges that the banks didn’t perform adequate due diligence.
• Not doing basic checks led to a crypto-fraud scam that cost him $1 Million.

A Californian man recently sued 3 Asian Banks. The “Golden State” resident Ken Liem accused the significant mistakes from the banks’ side led to a crypto-fraud scam.

The crypto scammers stole around $1 Million from the Californian victim. He states that the Asia-based banks lacked basic checkings against suspicious transactions. The proper checking could have prevented the scammers from opening accounts in the first place.

What’s This Crypto-Fraud Scam?

Per the attorneys of the California man, their client is the victim of the “pig butchering” crypto-fraud scam. This scam is also known as a “sha zhu pan” scam.

During this scam, crypto scammers create fake personalities to persuade investors in fraud schemes. In this practice, they “fatten up” their victims by instilling confidence. Once they have gained faith over time, they “slaughter” the victims and take their money.

It is the same way as fattening a pig before butchering it. These scams have emerged as a worldwide issue. Those affected have reported losing billions of dollars due to these fraudulent transactions.

Liem’s story is also similar. In January 2023, he was contacted on Linkedin for a crypto investment opportunity. The thieves tricked him into transferring payments to them for several months. They guaranteed him a high return for investing in the plan on his behalf.

The attorneys say these funds went to accounts from 3 Asian banks. The names include Hong Kong-based Fubon Bank Limited, Chong Hing Bank Limited, and the Singapore-based DBS Bank Limited.

After receiving the payments, the perpetrators sent them to third-party accounts instead of investing in the scheme. This crypto-fraud scam came to Lien’s attention when he tried to withdraw the money and found it had gone. This fraud caused him to lose $1 Million.

The Lawsuit Against 3 Asian Banks

Liem’s legal team filed a lawsuit against all 3 Asian banks in a California district court on December 31st, 2024. The lawsuit contends that the banks did not carry out careful monitoring.

It led to the crypto-fraud scam and empowered fraudsters to delude the victim for several months. California man’s lawyers stated that the banks failed to perform basic checks like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering.

Failure to do these regular checks would have raised suspicions about the transactions and the account holders involved. The banks would have investigated this situation quickly and conducted an essential evaluation.

A simple review by them would’ve revealed that these transactions lacked solid proof of being legal or authorized. The attorneys said that instead of doing so, the banks turned a blind eye.

The lawsuit stated, “Banking Defendants appear to have drawn a blind-eye toward illicit proceeds moving from the United States to a plethora of Asian entities whose accounts they custodied and handled.”

“They thus facilitated the extraction of millions of dollars, funding pig-butchering scams.” the attorneys further added in the lawsuit.

This lawsuit also claims that banks breached the United States Bank Secrecy Act. It requires banks to report suspicious behavior and keep thorough records of transactions. As penance for this crypto-fraud scam, the California man has asked for $3 Million and a jury trial.

Disclaimer

In this article, the views, and opinions stated by the author, or any people named are for informational purposes only, and they don’t establish the investment, financial, or any other advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrency assets comes with a risk of financial loss.