Epoch Times Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Bill Guan, is facing serious charges of conspiring to commit money laundering. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, the allegations against Bill involve participating in a transactional scheme to launder $67 million of illegally obtained funds.

Allegations Against CFO Involving Illicit Fund Laundering

The reports suggest that Bill employed the Make Money Online team of the news outlet to assist in converting fraudulent proceeds into cryptocurrency. The MMO team facilitated the transfer of illicit funds at a discounted rate on an undisclosed cryptocurrency exchange, which were then funneled into bank accounts linked to Enoch Times.

Authorities claimed that this money was subsequently laundered through Guan’s personal bank and cryptocurrency accounts, including Epoch Times accounts. This led to a substantial increase in the media company's annual revenue in its internal records. The funds were allegedly moved to accounts on various unnamed cryptocurrency platforms.

On the other hand, multiple cryptocurrency firms became suspicious of these transactions and eventually raised concerns. As the legal proceedings progress, it is crucial for the authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation to ascertain the extent of Guan’s involvement in the purported illicit activities. Meanwhile, Bill faces severe charges that could result in a maximum of 80 years in prison.

Setback for Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts

The cryptocurrency industry has been contending with substantial challenges for some time. Forbes highlighted that in the initial quarter of 2022, about $1.91 billion was lost to crypto hacks. In the following year, crypto investors suffered significant losses totaling $2 billion due to hacks, scams, and exploits in the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector.

Moreover, an additional $333 million was stolen in the first quarter of the current year. Prisma Finance, a decentralized finance platform, encountered a major crypto hack earlier, resulting in a significant loss of $9 million as reported.

Various Exploitative Methods in Crypto Scams

It is disheartening to witness the extensive impact of crypto scams, hacks, attacks, and unlawful activities on numerous crypto networks, investors, and users. According to PeckShield, a blockchain security and analytics company, attackers exploited vulnerabilities in Prisma Finance's smart contracts, enabling the misappropriation of funds from the protocol.

In a recent incidence involving North Korea, researchers confirmed hackers' consistent compromise of customers' private keys or seed phrases to transfer money to wallets controlled by the republic. They exchanged these funds for Tron (TRX) or Tether (USDT). In the Nirvana hack case, the offender utilized complex tactics like token-swap transactions and moved the stolen money across different blockchain networks. He converted funds into privacy-centric cryptocurrencies and utilized cryptocurrency mixers for obfuscation.

The allegations against Epoch Times CFO for a $67 million money laundering scheme underline the ongoing challenges in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.