California Man Sues Over Alleged $100K Cryptocurrency Scam

On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Talal Al-Quraini, a resident of California, filed a cryptocurrency fraud lawsuit against Shui Qin Wang, Shui Qin Wholesale Inc., and Doe defendants in San Diego Superior Court.

The complaint alleges that last year, Wang and Wholesale Inc. convinced Al-Quraini to wire transfer $100,000 in US dollars to bank accounts they controlled in Flushing, New York. They claimed the money would be used to open a cryptocurrency trading account for Al-Quraini on a site called USStrade. Wang and Wholesale Inc. purported to be acting on behalf of Joseph Zidle, an executive at investment firm Blackstone, but Zidle has not been confirmed to actually be involved.

Over the next few months, Wang and Wholesale Inc. sent Al-Quraini messages on messaging platform WhatsApp stating that his USStrade account was gaining value from cryptocurrency trades. By April 2024, they claimed the account was worth over $600,000. However, when Al-Quraini asked to withdraw funds, the defendants allegedly converted his $99,000 and closed his account access without justification.

The lawsuit accuses Wang and Wholesale Inc. of fraud, conversion, breaches of fiduciary duty, and intentional misrepresentation regarding the nature and status of Al-Quraini’s supposed cryptocurrency trading account. It states the defendants induced transfers of the funds by falsely representing they would be held in trust to open the account.

The complaint also names Doe defendants, which are alleged to include bank employees at JPMorgan Chase, where Wholesale Inc. maintained an account that received $90,000 of Al-Quraini’s transfers. The lawsuit argues these employees failed to properly verify Wang and Wholesale Inc.’s identities and activities as required by know-your-customer banking regulations.

Al-Quraini is seeking return of his funds, damages, attorney’s fees, and an injunction against the banks from knowingly enabling similar alleged cryptocurrency fraud schemes through insufficient due diligence on customer accounts. His lawyer stated they believe other victims may exist based on the defendants’ methods of targeting individuals through WhatsApp and fake promises of huge returns from Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency trades.

Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.