Queen of the mining world, holding 9% of the world’s computing power, was deceived out of 60 million yuan through a scheme set up by her in-law husband

Author: Duankong Quadrant

In May 2026, with a ruling from a U.S. federal court, a major cross-border scam case that shocked China and the U.S. finally came to an end.

The two brothers involved in the fraud were sentenced to 24 and 23 years in prison, respectively, while the corrupt American official Smedley who cooperated with them was sentenced to 8 years.

This case is even more absurd than a movie script. The victims are not inexperienced newcomers, but Lu Yongshuang, CEO of Chengdu Wanyou Computing Power and a well-known “Mining Queen” in the industry.

What deceived this shrewd Chinese female entrepreneur out of her entire fortune was not a high-IQ criminal gang, but two American con artists who learned to craft “elite personas” by watching the TV series "Billions."

So, why did the “Mining Queen” go overseas with her machines and fall into the hands of two scammers? How did this targeted “pig-butchering” scheme against cross-border capital actually unfold?

“Mining Queen” Goes Overseas to the U.S.

In the crypto world, Ningbo-born Lu Yongshuang, born in the 1980s, was once a legend.

Lu Yongshuang initially engaged in international trade, also organized customized travel groups, and was an outdoor extreme sports enthusiast. She started exploring Bitcoin as early as 2013. After self-learning programming in 2016, she was influenced by her classmates in a coding class who were trading cryptocurrencies, and she resolutely plunged into the crypto space.

In her early years, Chinese miners sought cheap water and electricity resources, venturing into the southwestern interior. During the flood season, Sichuan’s hydroelectric prices were only 0.2-0.3 yuan per kWh, making Sichuan China’s largest mining hub. Lu Yongshuang was among the earliest pioneers to go deep into Sichuan’s mountains to find water and power.

Lu Yongshuang recalled: “Our team first entered the mining circle in 2013. In 2016, we set up mining farms in Sichuan. Later, our team also engaged in mining machine distribution. In 2017 and 2018, about 70% of the mining machine distribution nationwide was probably done by us.”

In July 2019, Lu Yongshuang integrated her business and established Chengdu Wanyou Computing Power Technology Co., Ltd. (Valarhash), a comprehensive platform combining mining pool operation, farm construction, mining machine hosting, and computing power trading, owning the 1THash and BytePool mining pools as well as the 1TMine computing power trading platform.

By the first half of 2020, Lu Yongshuang’s company reached its peak. Industry data showed that Wanyou Computing Power’s mining pools accounted for about 9% of the total global Bitcoin hash rate, with 1THash ranking 7th worldwide and BytePool 11th. In that world, Lu Yongshuang was indisputably the “Mining Queen.”

But good times didn’t last. In May 2021, the government explicitly announced crackdowns on Bitcoin mining and trading. In mid-June, Sichuan’s Development and Reform Commission and Energy Bureau jointly issued notices to cut off power to virtual currency mining companies in Sichuan. In September of the same year, multiple ministries issued a joint statement to fully phase out domestic virtual currency mining.

For Lu Yongshuang, who held massive mining machines and hash rate contracts, the main source of her global hash power was her domestic farms. Facing the risk of losing everything overnight, she had to find compliant, cheap power sources for these “electric-consuming giants” as quickly as possible.

Going overseas to the U.S. became her lifeline.

Thus, eager to rebuild her hash power system abroad and find new locations for her thousands of mining machines, Lu Yongshuang set foot on North American soil.

In the crypto industry, high-net-worth individuals often have a natural admiration for “monopolized resources” and “special status,” and the severe cross-border information asymmetry during overseas farm migration greatly amplified this psychological weakness.

“The Emirati Royal Family’s Son-in-Law” Fabricates Political and Business Scams

In July 2021, through multiple introductions, Lu Yongshuang met a man claiming to have a royal background, Zubair, and his brother, top hedge fund manager Muzamir.

Zubair’s real name is Zubair Razaq, 42, who claimed to be “the Emirati royal family’s son-in-law” with top Middle Eastern political and business connections; his brother Muzamir’s real name is Muzamir Muhammad, 33, who learned financial knowledge by watching the TV series "Billions" and YouTube videos, mimicking the elite style of Wall Street hedge fund managers.

Left: Zubair; Right: Muzamir. Source: WKYC Channel 3

To weave a grand lie, the brothers frequented high-end hotels, rode in Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes, and Land Rover. During subsequent law enforcement searches, police even found 36 high-end watches and over 80 firearms in their home, including a custom gold-plated AK-47.

They precisely targeted Lu Yongshuang’s pain points, claiming to control the Nela Industrial Park in East Cleveland, a century-old industrial zone, which could provide not only factory buildings but also electricity at just $0.04 per kWh.

Nela Industrial Park. Source: Nela Park Management

The scammers exploited the scarcity of resources like royal backgrounds and unique electricity to lure interests, even bringing in local government endorsements.

The Zubair brothers used extremely low benefits, including Cleveland Browns game tickets, cigars, Japanese Wagyu beef, and high-end restaurant meals, to bribe Michael Smedley, the chief of staff to the East Cleveland mayor. After accepting bribes, Smedley became an accomplice. He provided the scammers with official letters, business cards, police badges, and even arranged an absurd signing ceremony in the mayor’s office.

With the witness of local government officials, the mayor himself, and the “Middle Eastern royal family” and “Wall Street elites” backing them, Lu Yongshuang was completely drawn in, unreservedly writing checks.

The U.S. prosecutors later revealed a cruel detail in their indictment: Brother Zubair deliberately established romantic relationships with multiple female victims, including Lu Yongshuang, to control them and lower their suspicion of the project’s legitimacy through emotional manipulation.

600 million dollars in funds went down the drain, becoming the biggest ATM of the case

After signing the contract, Lu Yongshuang paid $3 million to the so-called “Dubai Bridge Investment Company” in the first phase, and urgently transferred another $1 million as startup capital. However, the promised farm construction progress remained on paper forever.

Even more bizarre than the evaporating funds was the disappearance of the mining machines.

Due to the urgent domestic crackdown, Lu Yongshuang transported 1,067 high-value Bitcoin miners across borders to the U.S. But these machines never entered the Nela Industrial Park’s power plant; instead, they were intercepted by the Zubair brothers and secretly shipped to Canada for resale.

By August 2023, these “royal brothers,” driving Rolls-Royces and wielding gold-plated AKs, were forcibly evicted for long overdue mansion rent. Lu Yongshuang reported the case to authorities, prompting the FBI, Department of Justice, IRS Criminal Investigation, and others to intervene. The official website of Wanyou Computing Power was completely shut down.

According to Caixin, Lu Yongshuang personally lost over $9.4 million (about 60 million RMB), including the 1,067 miners sold in Canada for $6.17 million.

Lu Yongshuang’s case was the largest single loss among the approximately $21 million involved in the entire scam gang. She alone contributed $9.4 million, becoming the biggest “cash cow” of the case.

In May 2026, this multi-year transnational case finally concluded.

Zubair received a 24-year sentence; Muzamir, 23 years; Michael Smedley, 8.08 years; the brothers were ordered to pay $19.2 million in compensation, plus over $2 million in unpaid taxes and interest. They also had 70 firearms and a motorcycle confiscated.

Overseas setbacks, domestic chaos

Just three months after Lu Yongshuang signed the “air contracts,” she was embroiled in a legal dispute involving ST Zhongchang (600242.SH) and its subsidiary Shanghai Jincai Network Technology Co., Ltd.

In April 2022, the listed company ST Zhongchang announced that its subsidiary, Shanghai Jincai Network Technology, sued Chengdu Wanyou Computing Power.

It was revealed that ST Zhongchang’s former chairman, Li Qunnan, was suspected of embezzling more than 53.54 million yuan during his tenure to “privately buy mining equipment.” Of this, 30 million yuan was specifically used to purchase mining machines and hosting services from Lu Yongshuang’s Wanyou Computing Power.

Source: Shanghai Securities News

Source: Shanghai Securities News

After trial, the domestic court issued a second-instance final judgment: because virtual currency mining activities violate public interests and industry policies, the relevant economic contracts were deemed invalid. The court ordered Wanyou Computing Power to refund ST Zhongchang over 19.29 million yuan.

The mining machines and cash stolen by the fake royal family overseas, totaling 60 million yuan, and the nearly 20 million yuan owed in contracts from the listed company, were part of a long judicial tug-of-war that gradually eroded the once “Mining Queen,” who held nearly 10% of the world’s hash rate.