Douglas Jae Woo Kim has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for defrauding investors of over $7 million through a cryptocurrency investment scheme. Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer delivered the sentence.
Kim, 32, from New York, was convicted by a federal jury in February 2025 on 14 counts of wire fraud and money laundering, though he was acquitted on one count of international money laundering. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Breyer dismissed one count of laundering monetary instruments due to venue issues.
Court documents reveal that between October 2017 and June 2020, after relocating to San Francisco, Kim deceived investors by posing as a legitimate cryptocurrency trader. He falsely claimed that loans or investments for cryptocurrency trading carried little or no risk and promised high returns.
In October 2017, Kim approached a victim seeking short-term loans for what he described as a “fairly modest operation,” assuring low risk while acquiring over a million dollars from this individual. The majority of these funds were diverted to offshore sports betting sites.
In November 2017, another victim was persuaded via email to invest in a supposedly low-risk cryptocurrency trading strategy, resulting in over $500,000 being funneled primarily to offshore sports betting sites.
On January 1, 2018, Kim entered an agreement with another investor for approximately $200,000 worth of cryptocurrency. He converted most of these funds into bitcoin and transferred them to his account at an offshore casino. This victim ultimately provided more than $4 million during the scheme’s course.
Numerous victims fell prey to Kim’s fraudulent activities until July 2020 when charges were filed against him.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani announced the sentencing decision.
Besides imprisonment, Kim faces three years of supervised release post-sentence completion. A restitution hearing is forthcoming.
The case is prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah Stern and Maya Karwande with assistance from Veronica Hernandez, Maryam Beros, Andy Ding, Lynette Dixon, and Christine Tian following investigations by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation teams.
