Washington State Moves to Seize $7.1M in Crypto Linked to International Oil Fraud Scheme

Washington State authorities have launched a civil action to confiscate $7.1 million in cryptocurrency tied to a sophisticated international fraud operation. The scheme, masquerading as an oil storage investment opportunity, allegedly duped investors with promises of high returns from phantom oil tank leases in Rotterdam and Houston.

Geoffrey K. Auyeung, the alleged mastermind, faces criminal charges that could carry a 200-year prison sentence. The U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations are supporting the case, which targets crypto wallets believed to have laundered victim funds through shell companies like Sea Forest International LLC and Apex Oil and Gas Trading LLC.

Court documents reveal the operation ran from August 2022 to August 2024, using polished pitch decks to lure investors into wiring money to fraudulent escrow accounts. 'This was textbook deception,' remarked one investigator familiar with the case. 'They built an entire Potemkin village of oil investments that never existed.'