A prominent Chinese businesswoman in the cryptocurrency sector, Ms. Lü, was defrauded of over $9.4 million in the United States. Her mining pool once contributed 9% of the global Bitcoin hashrate. The scam involved two brothers, Zubair, who posed as Middle Eastern royalty. The elder brother claimed connections to the Saudi Minister of Defense, while the younger brother impersonated a hedge fund manager inspired by the TV series "Billions." They also deceived Michael Smedley, chief of staff to the mayor of East Cleveland, leading Ms. Lü to sign a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining farm development contract.