1.47 million in cash exchanged for USDT for Money Laundering, two people sentenced! The traps of this type of investment eyewash have been exposed.

[Block Rhythm] Recently, a case was judged in Taiyuan, Shanxi, where two individuals were sentenced for helping scammers with money laundering. The key point is the money laundering tool they used - USD ( USDT ).

Here's the thing: In May of this year, a woman named Zhang met someone called “Lin Hao” on a short video platform. The other party fabricated a story, claiming that his comrade worked at a well-known company and could obtain insider information for stock trading, guaranteeing a 5% return each period. However, there was a “special requirement” - transactions had to be in USD, and one must find a designated merchant to exchange cash for USD.

Ms. Zhang believed it and went to the hotel with 1.47 million cash on May 21 to exchange for USD. As a result, the contacts Chen and Li played a trick: they first transferred the so-called “USD account” ( given by “Lin Hao” to a USDT wallet address ), and the upper level transferred 202,328泰达币 to it in three installments, which exactly amounted to 1.47 million RMB. Then these two took the cash and handed it over to the upper level, thus completing the conversion from “cash → USDT”.

After the money was credited, “Lin Hao” vanished without a trace, and it was only then that Ms. Zhang realized she had been scammed and reported to the police.

The prosecutor identified two key points during the case: first, they retrieved chat records proving that Chen and Li were aware of the issues - they themselves admitted “the operation was too discreet, large cash transactions must have some tricks”; second, they traced the flow of virtual currency to determine where the USDT ultimately went, confirming that they indeed assisted in transferring the proceeds of crime.

The final verdict from the court is as follows: Chen was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, and Li to 1.5 years, with both fined a sum of money. The reason is very clear — both of them were aware that it was criminal proceeds and still assisted in the cross-border conversion of “cash → USD → USDT”, which is solid evidence of concealing and disguising the proceeds of crime. Afterward, they also received a benefit of 30,000, further confirming their “willful involvement in the crime.”

This case is actually quite typical: scammers first use investment rhetoric to lure people in, and then utilize the anonymity of virtual currencies and the convenience of cross-border transactions to engage in Money Laundering. Ordinary people are easily tempted when they see terms like “insider information” and “guaranteed profits,” and coupled with the request to exchange cash for USDT, it basically provides cover for the criminals.

The local procuratorate also issued a risk warning after the case was concluded, summarizing the characteristics and tactics of such scams, and collaborated with the anti-fraud center for a presentation. The chief procurator stated very bluntly: not only should the fraudsters be punished, but the “accomplices” who aid in money laundering must also face severe penalties.

So a reminder: if anyone asks you to exchange cash for virtual currency, especially through any “designated channels” or “internal accounts”, it can basically be determined that there is a problem. Tools like USDT themselves are not wrong, but don't let others use you as a pawn without realizing it.