"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 investments, has been sentenced to a heavy penalty in a U.S. court.

According to a report by virtual asset specialized media Vaincrypto on April 28 (local time), a U.S. federal court sentenced Sze Man Yu Inos to 71 months in prison for committing Bitcoin (BTC) investment fraud against elderly women in Saipan and Guam. This woman, who used the alias Yuki, approached victims by introducing herself as a successful Bitcoin investor from a wealthy Chinese family. She used the phrase "like a mother" to her victims, forming an emotional bond before providing fake investment information and stealing their funds, a typical affinity scam tactic.

From November 2020 to January 2022, Yuki expanded her operations to include Saipan, Guam, Washington state, and California. She deceived victims into believing they could make large profits with Bitcoin, taking large sums of investment money 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 rendered, confirming the forfeiture of assets worth $684,848 from criminal proceeds.

Prosecutor Anderson, who handled the case, emphasized that this ruling is a strong warning to criminals who exploit the trust of others. Prosecutor Anderson pointed out, "The defendant systematically targeted elderly people 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 principal guarantees and high returns. In particular, with the increasing number of crimes targeting the elderly who have limited access to information, there is a strong call for institutional protection measures and education to be implemented simultaneously.

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