A Newcastle, Washington man has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit money laundering, after admitting to moving nearly $100 million connected to an investment fraud scheme. Geoffrey K. Auyeung, 47, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Sentencing is set for May 12, 2026, before Judge John C. Coughenour.
According to the plea agreement, Auyeung established nine different companies that he used to receive funds from individuals who believed they were investing in oil and gas ventures. The entities included 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.
Between August 2022 and August 2024, co-conspirators persuaded victims to send money to accounts described as escrow accounts for purchasing oil tank storage in Rotterdam or Houston. Investors were told they could profit by renting out this storage space. However, once the funds arrived in accounts controlled by Auyeung, the money was quickly moved into other bank accounts or offshore locations and converted into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tether, USD Coin, and Ethereum through exchanges like Gemini, BitStamp, and Coinbase. Much of the cryptocurrency was then transferred to Binance accounts controlled by individuals based in Nigeria and Russia. Victims received no further information about their investments and communication ceased.
Investigators found that Auyeung opened at least 81 bank accounts across 24 financial institutions and held 19 accounts on eight cryptocurrency exchanges. From June 2022 through July 2024, these accounts received $97.1 million from domestic and international wire transfers as well as other deposits linked to at least 35 people or entities. Of this amount, $24.7 million came directly from identified victims; authorities believe the remaining funds are also proceeds of fraud.
As he became more aware of the fraudulent nature of the operation, Auyeung demanded higher commissions from his partners and admitted receiving over $4 million in payments for his role. He also misled banks about the source of incoming funds and his involvement when questioned about suspicious activity.
Despite being indicted in August 2024, Auyeung continued communicating with both coconspirators and victims until December 2025. During this period he accepted another $400,000 in commissions by routing deposits through bank accounts under his wife’s name.
Under the plea agreement terms, Auyeung will pay restitution totaling $24.7 million. He is also forfeiting approximately $2.3 million seized from his bank accounts and home at arrest time along with an Audi SQ8 vehicle. Additionally, he agreed not to contest civil forfeiture proceedings against about $7.1 million taken from various cryptocurrency wallets and will relinquish roughly $300,000 currently held in his bank accounts toward restitution.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment; prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence of either 63 months or the high end of federal guidelines if lower than that amount—though Judge Coughenour may impose any lawful sentence.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) are investigating the case; Assistant United States Attorneys Jehiel I. Baer and Yunah Chung are prosecuting.
