California man sues three banks over $1M crypto-fraud scam

A California man is suing three Asian banks, claiming they failed to conduct sufficient checks that could have prevented crypto fraudsters from stealing nearly $1 million from him.  

Ken Liem, the plaintiff, filed a lawsuit in a California district court on December 31, 2024.  

His attorneys argue that Liem fell victim to a pig butchering scam after being contacted on LinkedIn in June 2023 about a cryptocurrency investment opportunity.  

Liem was convinced to transfer funds to the scammers over several months, under the belief that they would invest the money on his behalf.  

According to the lawsuit, the funds were transferred to accounts at Hong Kong's Fubon Bank, Chong Hing Bank, and Singapore's DBS Bank.  

The scammers allegedly moved the funds to third-party accounts after receiving them.  

Liem's lawyers accuse the three banks of failing to carry out adequate Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and other compliance checks.  

Had the banks conducted these checks, the scammers' accounts would likely have been flagged and blocked, preventing them from opening accounts in the first place.  

The lawsuit further claims that the banks should have recognised the high likelihood that the account holders intended to defraud victims.  

"Banking Defendants appear to have drawn a blind-eye toward illicit proceeds," the attorneys state in the suit.  

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the banks violated the US Bank Secrecy Act by not maintaining proper records or reporting suspicious transactions to the US Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.  

Liem’s attorneys are seeking a jury trial and a minimum of $3 million in damages.  

None of the banks or business entities named in the lawsuit have commented on the case.