Original author: Ma He, Foresight News
If this story were made into a drama, it would undoubtedly be the most controversial, melodramatic family thriller of 2026—starring not an ordinary person, but Huo Liao Sen, the once-famous Hong Kong financial KOL whose real name is Yuan Binghui, formerly dubbed the "Teenage Stock God."
He initially built his wealth through stock trading and Bitcoin, and his radio show, "Sparks Igniting a Prairie Fire," was immensely popular among Hong Kong residents. He also authored an investment book titled "Borrowing My First Ten Million from Buffett."
However, no one expected that the recent lawsuit would expose the most outrageous family drama.
Someone secretly recorded the mnemonic phrase using a camera beside the bed and stole BTC.
In 2023, Hu Liaosen’s divorce case reached the UK High Court, where he accused his wife, Li Huanrong—who was in the process of separating from him—and her sister of secretly installing hidden cameras in their Brighton mansion, capturing him entering his cold wallet PIN and storing his mnemonic phrase, subsequently transferring 2,323 BTC.
The case has sparked heated discussion among netizens in Hong Kong and other regions after being reported by Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily and Hong Kong Economic Journal, as well as the UK’s Daily Mail and The Times.
The incident can be traced back to 2023. At that time, Hu Liaosen and Li Huanrong were going through a divorce; in early July, the trigger was their eldest daughter, who privately informed Hu Liaosen that her mother might be planning to get involved with Bitcoin.
Huo Liaosen immediately became suspicious. Instead of confronting him directly, he quietly installed recording devices at home to gather evidence.
According to court documents, the recording captured Suhwan Yong and her sister’s conversation verbatim. Suhwan Yong said: “Bitcoin has been transferred to me, but will it be discovered that you took it?”
It’s all good—take it all.
They also discussed money laundering risks, using a second wallet, and whether they would be watched by the police... these conversations later became key evidence in court.
In his testimony submitted to the court, Hu Liaosen explicitly stated that Li Huanrong secretly installed hidden cameras in the mansion to record his operations with the Trezor cold wallet.
The cold wallet is offline and protected by a six-digit PIN code, with its core being a 24-word mnemonic phrase. Whoever obtains the mnemonic phrase can restore the entire wallet on another device, instantly transferring ownership of the funds.
Later, the 2,323 BTC were indeed moved—transferred in batches to 71 different addresses, where they have remained ever since. Hu Liaosen expressed dissatisfaction and confronted Li Huanrong directly, only to be arrested himself. He pleaded guilty to one count of actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. Immediately afterward, he reported the incident to the police, accusing Li Huanrong of stealing the coins. In December, Li Huanrong was arrested by UK police and later released on bail. During a search of her premises, authorities found 10 cold wallets, five sets of mnemonic phrases, and several luxury watches, some of which were confirmed to be Hu Liaosen’s property. However, at the time, police stated there was insufficient new evidence and did not pursue further investigation.
As of March 2026, the case has been formally referred to the UK High Court for trial. After reviewing the transcript recordings, presiding judge Cotter stated that the evidence presented by the plaintiff was “devastating” and openly noted the high likelihood of the plaintiff’s success. Given the volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices, the judge specifically granted a worldwide freezing order to preserve the value of the relevant assets through expedited proceedings. Although the defendant, Lee Hwan-yong, firmly denied knowledge of the asset transfers through sworn affidavits, the court has ruled to allow the civil proceedings to continue.
Huo Liao Sen's Rise to Wealth and Controversial History
However, behind Huo Liao Sen's professional achievements, there have been numerous negative controversies.
He graduated from the Department of Accounting at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2003. Early in his career, he worked as a commentator for Radio Hong Kong and financial magazines. He gained widespread recognition for his accurate market predictions around the 2007–2008 financial crisis—such as being bearish on real estate and bullish on gold and the Japanese yen—and became known as the "Teenage Stock God." He accumulated his initial capital through publishing multiple best-selling investment books, hosting financial programs, and personal stock investments.
Thereafter, he invested in Bitcoin, elevating his wealth to a new level.
In his testimony at the UK High Court, Hu Liaosen stated that he began purchasing and holding large amounts of Bitcoin as early as 2010 to 2013, when its price was just a few dollars to hundreds of dollars.
2,323 bitcoins held to this day would be worth $232.3 million at a price of $100,000 each, or approximately $163 million at the current price of $70,000 each.
However, in 2017–2018, people complained that they lost money investing in virtual currency ATMs he promoted.
According to multiple media reports, Hu Liaosen has heavily promoted a cryptocurrency called HE15 on his social media platforms and lectures, requiring investors to pay approximately HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 for a so-called "cloud mining machine." The machine does not need to be brought home, as it is operated by a hosting center and generates virtual currency daily, which can be exchanged for BTC or ETH on Hu Liaosen’s affiliated trading platform.
Starting in mid-2018, the price of HE15 plummeted sharply, and exchange channels became blocked, leaving investors unable to withdraw their assets or finding their value nearly zero. Some investors even discovered that the so-called "high-performance mining rigs" had extremely low hardware specifications and were priced far above market value.
In early 2019, over 100 victims sought help from Hong Kong's Democratic Party and filed police reports, with the total涉案 amount estimated to be at least HK$20 million.
In April 2019, the Hong Kong Police Force's Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) took action, arresting several individuals associated with the company on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Huo Liaosen was initially identified as a KOL for the project, but he subsequently relocated to the UK.