Saipan Woman Sentenced 71 Months for Bitcoin Scam

A federal judge sentenced Sze Man Yu Inos to 71 months in prison after a jury convicted her of wire fraud for a scheme that targeted older women across Saipan, Guam and later in Washington and California.

According to court documents and an FBI release, the scheme ran from November 2020 through January 2022. Inos, 30, who used the name Yuki, posed as a wealthy Chinese heiress and a successful Bitcoin investor to gain victims’ trust.

Prosecutors say she cultivated relationships by paying for expensive meals and giving gifts, boasting about investment returns and sharing fabricated personal problems. Court records show she often told victims, “You are like my mom,” before requesting money or soliciting investments in Bitcoin under false pretenses.

Authorities also allege Inos forged the signature of a federal judge to advance the scheme. FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter described the forgeries and deception as “contempt for the victims and the rule of law.”

At sentencing the court ordered three years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service, restitution of $769,355.67, a mandatory $200 special assessment and a criminal forfeiture judgment of $684,848.34.

The case comes amid a rise in cryptocurrency fraud reported by federal authorities. The FBI reported $11.4 billion in U.S. losses from cryptocurrency fraud in 2025, a 22% increase from 2024, with Americans aged 60 and older accounting for $4.43 billion of those losses.