A U.S. federal court has sentenced a woman in Saipan to 71 months in prison for a bitcoin-related fraud scheme targeting multiple victims.
Sze Man Yu Inos, also known as "Yuki," was convicted of wire fraud targeting multiple victims, according to a Monday statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors said the 30-year-old fraudster targeted older women in Saipan and Guam between November 2020 and January 2022, and falsely claimed that she came from a Chinese wealthy family and had achieved success investing in bitcoin.
Yuki cultivated emotional bonds with her targets — frequently telling them, "You are like my mom" — before exploiting the trust to solicit investments in bitcoin based on false pretenses, per the statement. She later expanded the scheme to defraud additional victims in Washington and California.
In addition to the 71-month prison sentence, the court ordered restitution totaling $769,355, and imposed a criminal forfeiture personal money judgment of $684,848, along with a mandatory $200 special assessment fee.
"Criminals engaged in affinity fraud prey on our willingness to trust others," U.S. Attorney Anderson said in the statement. "This defendant chose to target older women across multiple jurisdictions, resulting in substantial financial losses. She continued her scams while this case was pending. The punishment imposed by the Court is well-deserved."
Crypto-related fraud has been on the rise, with losses hitting a record $11.3 billion last year, accounting for more than half of the $20.9 billion in total internet crime losses tracked by the FBI, according to a report released earlier this month.