Date: Feb. 20, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

SEATTLE - A 47-year-old resident of Newcastle, Washington, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiracy to commit money laundering for his scheme to take in fraud proceeds and forward them to coconspirators' bank accounts and cryptocurrency addresses, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Geoffrey K. Auyeung was arrested on a criminal complaint on August 12, 2024. He was indicted by the grand jury later that month. Sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour is scheduled for May 12, 2026.

According to the plea agreement, Auyeung admits that he set up nine different entities that he used to accept proceeds from investors who thought they were investing in the oil and gas industry. The names of business entities that offered purported investments related to oil and gas were Sea Forest International LLC.; Apex Oil and Gas Trading LLC.; Navigator Energy Logistics LLC.; Terminal Energy International Escrow Service LLC.; Energo Horizons Logistics (EA) LLC.; Legacy Energy Logistics Transport Group LLC.; Green Tree Gateway LLC, Dragon Timbers International LLC; and ANS & Partners International Limited.

From at least August 2022 through August 2024, co-schemers convinced victims to send money to what was represented as escrow accounts to purchase oil tank storage in either Rotterdam, Netherlands, or Houston. The schemers indicated that the investors could make significant profits by renting the oil tank storage they obtained to others. However, once the funds came into accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money was quickly moved into other accounts, moved offshore, or was used to purchase cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum, via cryptocurrency exchanges such as Gemini, BitStamp, and Coinbase. Much of the cryptocurrency was further transferred to accounts at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The Binance accounts were controlled by the same individual or individuals located in Nigeria and Russia. Victims were not sent any further information on their investment and Auyeung and others simply stopped responding.

Auyeung opened at least 81 different bank accounts at 24 different financial institutions. And he opened 19 accounts on eight different cryptocurrency exchanges. Between June 2022 and July 2024, those accounts received $97.1 million in domestic and international third-party wire transfers and other third-party deposits. Law enforcement has traced deposits linked to some 35 different people or entities. Some $24.7 million came from those victims. The government believes that the remaining deposits in Auyeung's accounts similarly represent fraud proceeds.

As Auyeung became more aware of the fraud, he demanded higher commission from the coconspirators. He admits he received at least $4,078,348 in commission payments. Auyeung admits he misleads banks and other financial institutions about the source of the funds and his role in any fraud complaints.

Even after Auyeung was indicted in this scheme, he continued to communicate with the coconspirators and with victims who thought they were investing in oil and gas storage. Between August 2024, and December 2025, Auyeung accepted an additional $400,000 in commissions by funneling deposits through bank accounts in his wife's name.

In the plea agreement Auyeung agrees to pay $24,707,031 in restitution.

Auyeung is forfeiting approximately $2.3 million in funds and cash seized from his bank accounts and home at the time of his arrest, as well as an Audi SQ8. He further agrees not to contest the civil forfeiture of some $7.1 million seized from various cryptocurrency wallets. He also agreed to relinquish about $300,000 currently in his bank accounts to pay toward his restitution obligation.

Conspiracy to commit money laundering - spending, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend 63 months in prison or the high-end of the guidelines range if it is less than 63 months. Judge Coughenour is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence allowed by law.

The case is being investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jehiel I. Baer and Yunah Chung.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.