In today’s world of fast-moving digital money, it’s easy to believe crypto schemes are too complex to trace.
But a jaw-dropping case out of Beijing proves otherwise—and shows just how easily internal company systems can be twisted into tools for massive fraud.
Eight individuals have now been sentenced for orchestrating a year-long scam that siphoned off over 140 million yuan (roughly $20 million) from a short-video platform.
The stolen cash was carefully funneled through fake firms and bank accounts before being turned into Bitcoin.
But in the end, investigators managed to crack the case—and trace the digital trail all the way back to the culprits.
How a Trusted Employee Created the Perfect Loophole
It all started with one employee who had far too much control.
A man named Feng was in charge of onboarding service providers, deciding who qualified for bonus payments, and approving the actual payouts.
That kind of authority made it incredibly easy for him to quietly rewrite the rules.
And that’s exactly what he did.
Feng altered the bonus criteria just enough to create exploitable gaps.
Then he brought in two outside collaborators—Tang and ang.
Together, they started submitting phony paperwork using private company data that Feng leaked.
Instead of real employees being rewarded, the money was rerouted into made-up accounts under fake names.
By the time internal auditors raised the alarm, the group had already walked away with a staggering 140 million yuan.
Fake Companies and a Crypto Laundering Web
To hide the loot, the gang turned to a tried-and-true trick: shell companies.
Yang was in charge of the laundering setup.
He got another associate, Wang, to help establish about ten fake companies—none of which had actual business operations.
Their only job was to receive those bogus bonus payments.
Once the money hit those accounts, it didn’t stay there long.
It jumped across multiple bank accounts and then made its way into Yang’s hands.
That’s when Feng gave the green light to move into phase two—converting everything into Bitcoin.
From there, the digital coins were split across eight international crypto exchanges.
To hide the trail even further, the coins were “mixed”—a common technique in crypto laundering—to make it harder to trace the origin of the funds.
Investigators Trace the Digital Trail
But digital doesn’t mean invisible.
Prosecutor Li Tao, who heads Haidian’s Science and Technology Crime Division, led the investigative charge.
His team pieced together everything from internal company logs and bank transfers to blockchain transaction histories.
The breakthrough came when they successfully recovered over 90 Bitcoin—a crucial piece of evidence that helped reconstruct the full laundering chain.
Every single coin was traced back to the stolen bonus funds, confirming exactly how the scam played out step by step.
Long Prison Terms and a Harsh Warning
Sentencing reflected each person’s level of involvement.
Feng, the insider who started it all, got the longest prison term—14 years and six months.
The others received jail time ranging from three to 14 years, along with steep fines.
All eight individuals were convicted of occupational embezzlement—a serious charge in China, especially given the size of the theft and the use of digital currencies to cover it up.
Too Much Power, Too Little Oversight
This case is now being seen as one of the most complex anti-corruption investigations handled in Beijing between 2020 and 2024.
What began as a simple case of bonus manipulation turned into a full-blown crypto laundering operation.
And it all came down to one key flaw: too much unchecked power in the hands of one employee.
It’s a stark reminder to businesses everywhere—especially in tech and fintech—of how important internal checks and balances are.
Because even in the age of Bitcoin, no digital trick is clever enough to guarantee total anonymity forever.