'Pig Butchering Scam:' Naperville Man Among 4 Indicted

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville man was one of four people charged in connection with a "pig butchering" money laundering scheme that involved more than $80 million in fraudulent transactions.

Hailong Zhu, 40, Naperville, was charged with concealment money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and international money laundering. Also charged are Justin Walker, 31, Joseph Wong, 32, and Lu Zhang, 36, all of California.

According to federal officials, Zhu, Walker, Wong and Zhang started bank accounts for shell corporations and used those accounts to filter money from scams related to cryptocurrency via "pig butchering." The funds were then moved to other banks in the United States and abroad.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in a pig butchering scheme, scammers form relationships with victims via social media, dating sites or other methods of contact. They then convince victims to invest their money in cryptocurrency, but the funds are funneled into accounts that are operated by those who run the pig butchering scams.

Federal officials say Zhu and the other defendants were part of a wider syndicate that included 280 fraudulent transactions and yielded over $80 million in funds.