Crypto scam mastermind gets 20 years for $73M pig butchering scheme
A US court sentenced Daren Li to 20 years in prison for leading a $73 million crypto pig butchering scam targeting American investors.
A dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis was sentenced to 20 years in US federal prison for orchestrating a global cryptocurrency scam that stole more than $73 million from victims, many of them American investors.
Daren Li, 42, received the statutory maximum sentence in the Central District of California, along with three years of supervised release, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Li has been a fugitive since December 2025, after cutting off his electronic ankle monitor and fleeing, the release states.
Prosecutors said Li and at least eight co-conspirators established spoofed domains and websites resembling legitimate trading platforms to promote fraudulent crypto investments after gaining victims’ trust, a scheme known as pig butchering or phishing scams.