A California resident has launched a $3 million lawsuit against three prominent Asian banks, alleging they failed to prevent a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment scam that cost him nearly $1 million.
Ken Liem filed the lawsuit against Hong Kong's Fubon Bank Limited, Chong Hing Bank Limited, and Singapore's DBS Bank, claiming they neglected proper customer verification and anti-money laundering protocols that could have prevented the fraud.
According to court documents filed December 31, Liem was targeted through LinkedIn in June 2023 with an apparently lucrative cryptocurrency investment opportunity. Over several months, scammers convinced him to transfer approximately $1 million to accounts at the three banks, promising secure investments on his behalf.
The lawsuit contends that the banks failed to conduct proper verification checks that would have identified suspicious transaction patterns. The legal action also names four Hong Kong companies - Richou Trade Limited, FFQI Trade Limited, Xibing Limited, and Weidel Limited - for allegedly opening fraudulent accounts and diverting funds.
The case falls under U.S. jurisdiction as DBS Bank operates a California branch, while the other banks processed transactions through Liem's U.S.-based Wells Fargo account. This brings them under the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, which requires financial institutions to monitor and report suspicious activities.
The scam follows a pattern known as "pig butchering," where fraudsters build trust with victims, often through romantic or professional pretenses, before convincing them to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes. Industry reports indicate such scams caused over $3.6 billion in losses across the crypto sector in 2024.
Liem seeks minimum damages of $3 million, holding both the banks and named entities responsible for his financial losses. This case joins a growing number of legal actions by crypto scam victims seeking justice through courts, including a recent lawsuit filed by U.S. citizen Hector Gustav Gutierrez over the loss of 33 Bitcoin to an alleged Southeast Asian crime syndicate.