Bruce Choy, a Los Angeles taxi driver, was arrested at San Francisco International Airport after federal authorities discovered he had fraudulently obtained $2 million in pandemic relief funds and converted them into cryptocurrency on Kraken. Investigators seized approximately 40 bitcoins from Choy during the arrest.
Choy fabricated a non-existent company called Premier Republic, appointed himself CEO, and submitted fraudulent applications for Small Business Administration COVID-19 relief funding. The proceeds were immediately transferred to the Kraken exchange where they were converted into bitcoin and other digital assets.
Federal prosecutors have charged Choy with wire fraud and money laundering offenses that carry potential sentences of up to 30 years for fraud and an additional 10 years for money laundering violations. The case underscores ongoing law enforcement focus on pandemic relief fraud schemes, of which cryptocurrency has become an increasingly common conduit for obscuring illicit fund flows.