\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: A man who joined his wife in laundering over S$1 million (US$775,600) in love scam proceeds was sentenced to six years and four months’ jail on Monday (Mar 30).<\/p>\n
Singaporean couple Anthony Ng Zi Qin, 53, and his wife, Florence Choo Li Jin, 52, converted cash into a cryptocurrency called USDT and bought Bitcoin in exchange for commissions.<\/p>\n
His wife had been sentenced to jail for six years and eight months last month.<\/p>\n
Ng was approached by a 60-year-old man named Cheng Keng Tiong, who asked if he knew how to buy cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n
Cheng said they could receive commissions if they helped an unidentified person called Keith to collect cash, convert it into USDT and use it to buy Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
Ng agreed and started helping Cheng in late 2022 before roping his wife into the scheme.<\/p>\n
Both Ng and his wife recruited other people into the scheme for various roles, such as collecting money from victims or providing bank accounts.<\/p>\n
One of the victims was a 74-year-old woman. In July 2022, she received a message from a Steven Zhang on Facebook.<\/p>\n
He said he wanted to befriend her, and the victim obliged after his persistent attempts.<\/p>\n
Steven claimed he was working as an engineer at an oil rig and that he needed money.<\/p>\n
The victim started transferring money to bank accounts Steven provided, and their conversations became romantic.<\/p>\n
Between February 2023 and mid-August 2023, Ng conspired with his wife and Keith to convert S$1.1 million received from this victim into USDT and later Bitcoin.<\/p>\n
He and his wife took turns collecting cash from the victim, receiving a 3 per cent commission which they shared with Cheng.<\/p>\n
Ng’s cut of this was about S$12,888.<\/p>\n
The victim did not recover any of the money and was left with just S$500,000 in retirement savings.<\/p>\n
At least three victims aged above 60 were involved in the scams.<\/p>\n
Multiple police reports were lodged and Ng and his wife were arrested on Sep 22, 2023.<\/p>\n
Ng pleaded guilty to multiple charges under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, with another eight charges taken into consideration.<\/p>\n
Across his charges, he had facilitated the laundering of at least S$1.66 million into Bitcoin, which has been entirely dissipated.<\/p>\n
He also gained at least S$401,110, which he had reasonably suspected to be criminal benefits.<\/p>\n
The prosecution sought 78 to 83 months’ jail for Ng, saying he had not only aided Keith but recruited another person to gain more commissions.<\/p>\n
He was involved in the criminal enterprise from as early as Nov 2, 2022 until Sep 22, 2023, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan.<\/p>\n
Even on the day of his arrest, he had conspired to acquire S$69,316 from another victim and tried to take S$115,000 from a retiree.<\/p>\n
For money laundering, he could have been jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n