Love, lies and lost coins: How online flirtation ends in crypto fraud

What starts as flirtation on a dating app often ends in a drained wallet. Increasingly, it’s crypto scammers targeting Americans and laundering stolen millions overseas.

In 2025, online romance can feel thrilling, but cryptocurrency dating scam $36.9 million headlines show its darker side. It usually starts with a friendly message on social media or a dating app. Then slowly, week by week, they build trust, seem charming, knowledgeable, affectionate and eager to share their investment tips, often in crypto.

Victims are lured by getting flattering messages, late-night voice calls, links to fake trading platforms or receiving fake videos of their crypto gains. But every time victims try to withdraw their profits, they’re met with fees, delays, manipulation or demands for more deposits. The platforms vanish once the scammers have squeezed out enough money.

In 2023 alone, Americans lost over $5.6 billion in crypto scams, 71% of which were investment-related. And romance scams, also known as pig butchering scams, were the most prominent.

How a flirty DM turned into a global crypto laundering scheme

This scam grew from a flirty DM into an international money laundering operation through shell companies, businesses that exist mostly on paper with no real operations or employees. These entities are often used to hide money trails, avoid taxes or obscure the true ownership of assets.

In this case, five men, scattered across the US, Spain, China and Turkey, were charged after using dating apps and social platforms to reel in American victims. Two scammers, Jose Somarriba and Shengsheng He, founded Axis Digital, a fake crypto business that served as the financial front. They opened a Deltec bank account in the Bahamas under Axis Digital’s name and used it to accept victim funds. Another co-conspirator, Jingliang Su, worked as a director and was in charge of converting stolen money into Tether USDt (USDT), a stablecoin favored by both fraudsters and legitimate users for its speed and liquidity.

Yicheng Zhang and Joseph Wong handled the dirty work in the US by operating bank accounts, moving money between states and disguising the origins of the funds. Eventually, everything ended up in wallets managed by scam centers in Cambodia, a hub of laundering activity.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) says this case, which shocked the public in June 2025, involved lengthy conversations through dating apps, calls and even fake investment dashboards. Victims were told their crypto investments were growing when, in fact, their funds were being funneled into crypto wallets abroad.

What’s more, the DOJ moved to seize more than $225 million in crypto tied to pig butchering scams, involving over 400 victims tricked through fraudulent investment platforms. The DOJ also credited Tether for aiding the investigation.

What made this scheme stand out was how polished it was. Victims weren’t just being tricked by a person; they were being fooled by a whole system complete with corporate fronts, international bank transfers, technical jargon and screenshots of unimaginable gains at the ready to make everything seem legit.

Why romance scammers prefer Tether for laundering millions

Unlike traditional bank wires, stablecoin transactions such as USDT can be moved across borders instantly with minimal scrutiny. That makes it perfect for transforming ill-gotten gains into seemingly clean assets.

The Tether laundering scheme used in this case is a classic example of how crypto’s anonymity and speed attract criminals. After Axis Digital collected the funds, they were converted into Tether and sent to wallets based in Cambodia. From there, they were redistributed using Telegram-based crypto laundering rings, some of which have links to sanctioned entities.

The US government has grown increasingly concerned about stablecoins being used in illicit finance. That’s why the DOJ’s crackdown on cases like this goes hand-in-hand with larger efforts to regulate Tether and monitor suspicious crypto flows. By tracing the onchain movements, investigators uncovered wallet addresses, payment patterns and conversion activity consistent with known laundering behaviors.

Did you know? According to Chainalysis’s crypto crime report, USDT money laundering cases accounted for an astounding 63% of all illicit crypto transactions in 2024. It’s a significant jump from previous years, showing its growing appeal to fraudsters due to its speed and low fees.

The global web of crypto crime

Axis Digital is just one node in a sprawling digital spider web. The DOJ crypto scam crackdown is targeting more than just romance scams; it’s pursuing international syndicates, shell firms and state‑backed groups. 

The Huione Group crypto crime activity illustrates how criminal networks overlap with geopolitical players. Treasury officials say Huione has become the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors” such as North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

What’s more, this underworld is dizzyingly interconnected: Axis Digital funnels to Cambodia, Huione funnels Korean‑linked funds through similar channels, and Telegram-based crime rings share cover services and guarantee syndicates. 

With DOJ prosecutors securing a crypto scammer’s guilty plea from Jose Somarriba, one of the ringleaders behind the Axis Digital crypto romance scam, it signals that 2025 may be the year things turn. The case, which involved millions in stolen crypto funneled through shell companies and laundered abroad, has become a cornerstone in the DOJ’s broader crackdown on pig butchering-style scams.

This guilty plea isn’t just a formality; it’s an admission from within the ring, and maybe the way toward unraveling larger syndicates. US agents are poring through transactions, tracing USDT across Asia and beyond, mapping out digital corridors. They’re seeing a pattern: Romance crypto scamming Americans leads to USDT, which feeds a global laundering pipeline.

Did you know? The stolen money from romance scams doesn’t just disappear. The funds often flow through laundering operations connected to sanctioned groups, feeding wider cybercrime ecosystems.

How to avoid falling into the crypto-dating trap

Fraudsters use various technological and behavioral techniques to trick victims of crypto schemes. These traps frequently use trust, a sense of haste and the promise of large returns to bypass sound judgment.

Looking out for red flags can help you stay safe. Be wary of unsolicited investment advice, especially from someone you just met online.

• Trading platform scams: If a new dating match suggests a platform promising guaranteed profits or asks for more deposits before withdrawals, that’s a major warning sign. Never share ID documents or personal data with platforms you haven’t thoroughly vetted.
• Do some research: Check if the company is registered with a financial authority and search for independent reviews. Check if that investment platform exists by looking for SEC and DFPI registrations.
• Question “too good to be true” relationships: Love or crypto investments shouldn’t feel like a rollercoaster. If someone you just met online starts pushing crypto on you, it’s worth checking the legitimacy of the crypto opportunity and the relationship.
• Telegram scams: If someone you barely know suggests using Telegram for crypto offers, it’s likely a scam.
• Meet face-to-face or don’t invest: Scammers tend to hide their real faces and avoid face-to-face conversations, sending fake proof of gains. A live call might help, but even that can be faked with artificial intelligence. 

Emotional vulnerability can also play a role. People in love may have a blurred perception of reality and miss the warning signs. Others may lack crypto knowledge and only hear about “huge gains” on social media. That’s where crypto education matters: Understanding the basics can mean the difference between spotting a scam and falling for one.