Woofun AI reports that the Shilin District Court in Taiwan issued a first-instance judgment on July 16, sentencing Shi Qiren, the primary suspect associated with BitX Tech, to 22 years in prison. The court found BitX Tech colluded with a fraud syndicate to launder more than 2.3 billion New Taiwan Dollars. The scheme involved directing victims to purchase Tether (USDT) with cash across 45 stores, converting funds to US dollars, and transferring them overseas. Between January 2024 and April 2025, the operation affected 1,539 victims with total scam losses exceeding 1.27 billion NT dollars. Prosecutors charged Shi Qiren and 14 others with aggravated fraud, money laundering, and illegal virtual asset services, noting the defendant’s poor post-crime attitude contributed to the severity of the sentence.