Newcastle man gets 5 years for $97M crypto laundering

A federal judge in Seattle sentenced Geoffrey Auyeung, 47, of Newcastle, Washington, to five years in prison after prosecutors said he helped move proceeds from a fraudulent oil-and-gas escrow scheme into crypto and offshore accounts.

Prosecutors say investors were told their money would buy or lease oil tank storage in Rotterdam or Houston and generate rental income. Once deposits hit accounts controlled by Auyeung, investigators say the funds were sent overseas or converted into cryptocurrency instead of being used for the promised purchases.

Court filings show Auyeung set up at least nine business entities to receive investor deposits and opened at least 81 bank accounts at 24 financial institutions, plus 19 accounts at eight cryptocurrency exchanges. Between June 2022 and July 2024 those accounts handled $97.1 million in third-party transfers that the government flagged as fraud proceeds.

Records allege Auyeung converted money into Bitcoin, Tether, USDC and Ethereum using platforms including Gemini, Bitstamp and Coinbase. Prosecutors say much of that crypto was sent to Binance accounts tied to individuals in Nigeria and Russia. Victims received no updates and did not get the returns they were promised.

The government alleges Auyeung earned more than $4 million in commissions for concealing the proceeds and raised his fees after becoming aware the funds were fraudulent. After his arrest in August 2024, prosecutors say he continued to collect payments, routing about $400,000 into bank accounts held in his wife’s name through December 2025.

Auyeung agreed to forfeit roughly $2.3 million seized from his accounts and home and an Audi SQ8, and he will not contest civil forfeiture of about $7.1 million in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies held in wallets. The government has sought $24.7 million in restitution; that figure is pending before a magistrate judge.

Investigators traced chains of transfers across banks and exchanges to build the case that the transactions were designed to hide the origin of the funds. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour remarked at sentencing, “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.” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Floyd commented that Auyeung continued communicating with co-conspirators and routed illicit fees through his wife’s accounts for 16 months, showing disregard for the law.