SEATTLE — A 47-year-old Newcastle, Washington, man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in moving nearly $100 million in proceeds from an investment fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Geoffrey K. Auyeung admitted that he accepted fraud proceeds and forwarded the funds to coconspirators’ bank accounts and cryptocurrency addresses, according to an announcement by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.
Auyeung was arrested on a criminal complaint on Aug. 12, 2024, and was indicted by a federal grand jury later that month.
According to the plea agreement, from at least August 2022 through August 2024, coconspirators persuaded victims to send money to what were described as escrow accounts to purchase oil tank storage in Rotterdam, Netherlands, or Houston.
Investors were told they could earn significant profits by renting the storage tanks to others.
Instead, once the funds reached accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money was quickly transferred to other accounts, sent offshore, or converted into cryptocurrency.
FILE- Image of a crypto ARM machine. (7News)
The transactions were conducted through exchanges including Gemini, BitStamp, and Coinbase, with much of the cryptocurrency later transferred to accounts at Binance controlled by individuals located in Nigeria and Russia, prosecutors said.
Victims received no further information about their investments, and Auyeung and others stopped responding to them, according to court documents.
Auyeung admitted that he set up nine entities to accept investor funds:
Sea Forest International LLCApex Oil and Gas Trading LLCNavigator Energy Logistics LLCTerminal Energy International Escrow Service LLCEnergo Horizons Logistics (EA) LLCLegacy Energy Logistics Transport Group LLCGreen Tree Gateway LLC Dragon Timbers International LLCANS & Partners International Limited.
He opened at least 81 bank accounts at 24 financial institutions and 19 accounts on eight cryptocurrency exchanges, prosecutors said.
Between June 2022 and July 2024, those accounts received $97.1 million in domestic and international third-party wire transfers and other deposits.
Law enforcement traced deposits linked to about 35 people or entities, including $24.7 million from identified victims.
Prosecutors believe the remaining deposits also represent fraud proceeds.
As he became more aware of the fraud, Auyeung demanded higher commissions from his coconspirators and admitted receiving at least $4,078,348 in commission payments.
He also admitted misleading banks and other financial institutions about the source of the funds and his involvement when fraud complaints arose.
FILE – The Binance app icon is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Even after his indictment, Auyeung continued communicating with coconspirators and victims, according to prosecutors.
Between August 2024 and December 2025, he accepted an additional $400,000 in commissions by funneling deposits through bank accounts in his wife’s name.
Under the plea agreement, Auyeung agreed to pay $24,707,031 in restitution.
He is forfeiting about $2.3 million in funds and cash seized from his bank accounts and home at the time of his arrest, as well as an Audi SQ8.
He also agreed not to contest the civil forfeiture of approximately $7.1 million seized from various cryptocurrency wallets and to relinquish about $300,000 currently in his bank accounts toward restitution.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.