A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court for his part in money laundering for $13 million stolen from victims of an investment scam authorities call “pig butchering.”

Mingzhi Li pleaded guilty to conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business and was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 20. Co-defendants Zeyue Ji and Jun Shi are next due in court Oct. 16.

“Mr. Li is a naive college student who got talked into opening a bank account for some big-time fraudsters,” his attorney, Dean Steward, said. “He deeply regrets his actions and takes full responsibility.”

Li said in court papers that he was recruited by “two people who are not currently part of this case,” in December of 2022. He was asked to open an account at Citibank in Los Angeles.

“At the request of the outside

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