Fugitive ‘Pig Butchering’ Boss Sentenced to 20 Years in Absentia Over $73M Scam

A U.S. federal court has sentenced Daren Li to 20 years in prison for laundering $73 million through a global network of shell companies, despite the defendant’s chair sitting empty. The dual national of China and St. Kitts and Nevis remains a fugitive after cutting his ankle monitor and fleeing U.S. supervision in December 2025.

The sentencing, delivered Monday in the Central District of California, marks a decisive escalation in the Department of Justice’s war on "pig butchering" (Sha Zhu Pan), industrial-scale crypto investment fraud often operated from compounds in Southeast Asia. Li received the statutory maximum penalty.

The Empty Chair Verdict

Li, 42, previously admitted to managing a financial pipeline that washed victim funds through U.S. banks before converting them into Tether (USDT). Following his guilty plea, he was released under supervision but absconded just weeks before his final hearing.

Prosecutors did not wait for his recapture. The court imposed the 20-year term plus three years of supervised release, signaling that flight would not delay justice for the victims of the Cambodian-based scam rings.

The Court's sentence reflects the gravity of Li's conduct, which caused devastating losses to victims throughout our country. The Criminal Division will work with our law enforcement partners around the world to ensure that Li is returned to the United States.

. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division

The Laundering Engine

Court filings reveal a sophisticated apparatus designed to bypass banking flags. Li and his co-conspirators established a network of U.S. shell companies to open business bank accounts. Victims, groomed via dating apps and social media to invest in fake crypto platforms, wired money directly to these entities.

Once the fiat hit the accounts, the clock started:

• $59.8 million was funneled specifically through U.S. shell companies.
• Funds were rapidly aggregated and transferred to overseas accounts, including at Deltec Bank in The Bahamas.
• The capital was finally converted into USDT and dispersed into wallets controlled by the syndicate.

Institutional Context

This case represents a shift in how U.S. authorities prosecute cross-border crypto fraud. By securing a maximum sentence in absentia, the DOJ is establishing a precedent: the leaders of offshore scam centers face severe liability, even if they physically evade capture.

Li’s operation is not an isolated incident. Eight other co-conspirators have already pleaded guilty in related cases, dismantling a critical financial artery for the scam centers. While Li remains at large, the legal framework to hold his network accountable is now set in stone.