Sentencing in Washington: The money laundering scheme that moved over 97 million

Geoffrey K. Auyeung, a 47-year-old resident of Newcastle, Washington, pleaded guilty on February 20, 2026, in the U.S. District Court in Seattle to one of the most complex financial fraud cases in the region. His operation involved systematically building a scheme that used fake companies as the main tool to deceive victims and siphon their funds into international money laundering networks.

How the scheme worked: The facade of fake companies

Auyeung’s method illustrates a sophisticated tactic in modern fraud. He created nine shell companies that pretended to be legitimate investment entities in the oil and gas sector, an area that typically attracts significant capital. Under this cover, he contacted victims, presenting himself as a trusted investment manager, convincing them to transfer their savings.

The scheme funneled approximately $97.1 million in fraudulent funds into 81 bank accounts and 19 cryptocurrency accounts controlled by Auyeung and his associates. This network of multiple accounts was deliberately designed to make tracking the funds difficult and to evade detection by financial authorities.

The international flow: From North America to Russia and Nigeria

Once the funds entered accounts under Auyeung’s control, he quickly executed international transfers to accomplices located in Russia and Nigeria. This cross-border movement is a common feature of modern money laundering, which exploits jurisdictions with weaker regulatory controls to legitimize illicit funds.

Of the $97.1 million defrauded, investigations confirmed that Auyeung personally captured at least $4.07 million, while the rest was distributed among his overseas collaborators.

Judicial consequences: Restitution and imprisonment

As part of his plea agreement, Auyeung must pay $24.7 million in restitution to the victims and will forfeit assets valued at approximately $10.1 million seized by authorities. Prosecutors have requested a sentence of 63 months in prison, with the sentencing hearing scheduled for May 12, 2026.

This case highlights how complex fraud schemes rely on sophisticated methods of concealing identities and compartmentalizing funds. Detection was made possible through coordinated investigations that tracked multiple accounts and identified abnormal patterns of international transfers, an increasingly crucial methodology in the fight against these criminal schemes worldwide.