Dutch police extradited Chinese national Zheng Zhao and arraigned him after prosecutors accused him of laundering money tied to an investment scam, court documents say. Zhao, 44, is alleged to have helped move at least $36.9 million stolen from victims, converting the funds into cryptocurrency stablecoin USDT before sending them to digital wallets controlled in Cambodia. Prosecutors say scammers working through scam centers in Cambodia targeted U.S.-based victims with calls, texts and messages on dating sites and social media. Victims were urged to invest in fictitious businesses and were shown screenshots claiming their supposed digital-asset investments were growing. Court records state Zhao helped facilitate transfers of the stolen funds to an account at Deltec Bank in the Bahamas. He then converted that money into USDT, allowing it to be transferred to digital wallets controlled by people in Cambodia. The funds were later spread to leaders of scam centers across Southeast Asia. Zhao was charged in August 2025 and is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors say the case involves 174 American victims identified by U.S. investigators. Zhao was the ninth person charged, after eight others pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges. The alleged transfers were coordinated by coconspirators who reportedly moved between the U.S. and Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. Most of the funds were said to have been sent to scam center leaders in the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville, described by prosecutors as a well-known haven for Chinese criminal activity. Two other coconspirators, ShengSheng He and Jingliang Su, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced last year to 51 months and 46 months in prison respectively. Zhao appeared in a California district court on Friday and remains charged in the case.