LOS ANGELES
Li Liu, 27, a Chinese national living in Los Angeles’ Koreatown and known by multiple aliases, was sentenced Thursday to 28 months in federal prison for laundering about $3.5 million stolen through “pig butchering” scams, federal officials stated.
The online investment fraud schemes lure victims through fake relationships before convincing them to send money to fraudulent platforms.
Liu pleaded guilty on June 4 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors say she opened sham business accounts, received bulk cash shipments from victims, and transferred funds to overseas companies.
In one month alone, she sent more than $83,000 from a fake company account to Hong Kong. She also used fake passports and IDs to open mail facility accounts, picking up packages containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
In April 2025, Liu collected six such packages, photographed the money, consolidated it, and delivered it to co-defendant Shaui Lyu, 28, also of Koreatown. Authorities recovered images on Lyu’s phone showing roughly $3.5 million in bulk cash.
A search of Liu’s home turned up $104,000 in victim funds, plus unopened packages containing $285,000 in cash and $87,000 in gold bars.
Lyu, an illegal alien from China, also pleaded guilty and faces up to 20 years in prison at his Sept. 4 sentencing.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.