Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for involvement in $73 million cryptocurrency fraud case

On February 10th, the US Department of Justice announced that Daren Li, a man with dual citizenship of China and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced in absentia to the maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release by the Central District Federal Court in California on February 9th for his involvement in a global cryptocurrency investment fraud case involving over 73 million US dollars. The Ministry of Justice stated that Li had pleaded guilty in November 2024, admitting to involvement in cross-border cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering conspiracies, but he fled after cutting off an electronic ankle bracelet in December 2025 and is still at large. The case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service, with assistance from law enforcement agencies from multiple countries. The US Department of Justice stated that it will continue to promote international cooperation and strive to extradite Li back to the US to serve his sentence.