According to BlockBeats news, on August 7, recently, the People's Procuratorate of Baokang County, Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, filed a public prosecution, and the local court sentenced defendants Yao, Yang, Liu A, Qiao, and Liu B to prison terms ranging from two years and six months to three years for the crime of concealing and disguising criminal proceeds in a case of transferring illegal funds using virtual currency, with fines ranging from 5,000 to 18,000 yuan.
Starting from April 2024, individuals including Yang, Yao, and Liu A formed a group chat using overseas chat software. Knowing that the upstream funds might be derived from illegal activities such as telecom fraud, they facilitated the transfer of illegal funds by trading in virtual currency Tether. The group had clear divisions of labor: Yang was responsible for funding supply, Yao and Liu A connected with the fraudsters to receive 'cash withdrawal' instructions, while Qiao, Liu B, and other 'runners' went to designated locations to collect the fraudulent funds. They repeatedly converted the fraudulent funds into virtual currency and back, ultimately transferring the funds to the fraudsters, thereby concealing the illegal nature of the funds. Investigations revealed that the group helped transfer 2.09 million yuan in fraudulent funds, with illegal profits ranging from 10,000 to 90,000 yuan.
During the case handling process, the prosecuting attorney prompted the suspects to voluntarily return their illegal gains through legal explanation and reasoning, recovering a total of over 1.5 million yuan in stolen money through various measures, which was proportionally returned to 17 victims of telecom network fraud after the judgment took effect.
"From overseas encrypted communication software to using virtual currency transactions to transfer illegal funds, from professional 'runners' cashing out to the complex flow of funds through multiple accounts, such criminal activities exhibit obvious characteristics of immediacy, chain-like structure, and concealment. The general public must protect their property well and must not be tempted by small profits to engage in illegal activities," reminded a relevant person in charge of the Baokang County Procuratorate. (Jimu News)