"I'll treat you like a mother"...Bitcoin scam targeting seniors ends in 71 months in prison

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), Cryptocurrency Scam/AI Generated Image

A woman in her 30s residing in Saipan, who defrauded seniors of hundreds of millions of won by using the lure of successful Bitcoin investment, has been sentenced to a heavy penalty by a U.S. court.

According to a report by the virtual asset specialized media outlet BeInCrypto on April 28 (local time), the U.S. Federal Court sentenced Sze Man Yu Inos to 71 months in prison for committing Bitcoin (Bitcoin, BTC) investment fraud against elderly women in Saipan and Guam. The woman, who used the alias Yuki, approached victims by introducing herself as a successful Bitcoin investor from a wealthy Chinese family. She used a typical affinity scam method, telling victims, "You're like a mother to me," forming an emotional bond, and then providing fake investment information to steal their funds.

From November 2020 to January 2022, Yuki expanded her operations to include Saipan and Guam, as well as Washington and California. She deceived victims into believing they could earn large profits with Bitcoin, receiving substantial investment funds from them and exploiting the trust she had built. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered her to pay $769,355 in restitution to the victims. A monetary judgment was also issued, confirming the forfeiture of $684,848 in criminal proceeds.

Prosecutor Anderson, who handled the case, emphasized that this ruling sends a strong warning to criminals who exploit the trust of others. Prosecutor Anderson pointed out, "The defendant systematically targeted seniors across multiple regions and did not stop her fraudulent activities even while the trial was ongoing." The court accepted the severe punishment sought by the prosecution, considering the habitual nature of the crime and the scale of the damage.

As the virtual asset market grows, fraud crimes using well-known cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Experts advise extreme caution when someone approaches too intimately to recommend virtual asset investments or promises guaranteed principal and high returns. In particular, there is a growing call for institutional protection measures and education to be implemented in parallel, as crimes targeting the elderly, who have low access to information, are on the rise.

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