Lawsuit Filed Over Pig Butchering Crypto Scam

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Oct 02, 2024, 14:40 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Kiley Grombacher filed a lawsuit against multiple defendants alleging their client was caught up on a "pig butchering" scam involving the theft of over 33 Bitcoin (BTC) equivalent at the time to more than $2.1 million.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff in this case was caught up in an alleged global RICO conspiracy known as pig butchering where fraudulent crypto investment schemes are directed from Asia. These scams are believed to be perpetrated by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia. These scammers created believable copycat websites that replicate authentic trading platforms. The scammers then simulate actual trades on these bogus websites as they slowly steal money from victims.

The complaint alleges that in September of 2023, the plaintiff in was introduced to "1" by an individual he'd met on LinkedIn who claimed to be a niece of "1." Initially there was a video phone call, but subsequent communication used the Telegram app. The alleged scam was that "1" claimed he would teach the plaintiff in this matter how to become a successful cryptocurrency trader. This alleged scam artist also claimed to be affiliated with an investment firm that works with Binance and showed falsified examples of how successful he was a obtaining high returns from his cryptocurrency trading methods. The case was filed against the alleged scammer who called themselves "1."

According to the complaint, the alleged scam artist convinced the plaintiff to sign up with the trading outfit Kraken, purchase BTC and then transfer it to a trusted exchange site Coinberry. The BTC was then converted to Tether (USDT) for use in various investment strategies. Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the "trusted exchange" was instead an allegedly fraudulent website created to deceiving unwitting victims.

The plaintiff in this matter claims the fraudsters were so convincing they convinced him to transfer his life savings, including his entire IRA to them.

"It's absolutely sickening that this kind of scam had such global reach," said attorney Kiley Grombacher. "Thousands of people lost their life savings, including our client who has to wonder how to pay his basic life expenses after having worked tirelessly his entire life to build up a substantial nest egg."

The case is Hector Gustav Gutierrez v. "1" a/k/a "Yan Shi Zhang", US District Court of California, Case No. 5:24-cv-01923.

About Bradley/Grombacher LLP

When you find yourself in need of taking legal action against another party in a dispute, turn to the attorneys at Bradley/Grombacher for help. Our lawyers have more than 50 years of combined experience that can be put to work to help you get the fair and just compensation you deserve in a dispute involving employment law, consumer law, and personal injury law.

Contact: Joseph Marchelewski, [email protected]

SOURCE Bradley/Grombacher