The young stock god stages a melodramatic family drama: Huoliao Sen is emptied of 160 million USD in BTC by his partner

Original Author: Ma He, Foresight News

If this story were made into a drama, it would definitely be a highly controversial and melodramatic family suspense film at the beginning of 2026— the protagonist is not an ordinary person, but the well-known financial KOL in Hong Kong, Huo Liao Sen, whose real name is Yuan Binghui, once dubbed the "Young Stock God."

He made his fortune in his early years through stock trading and Bitcoin. His radio program "Spark Ignition" was immensely popular among countless Hong Kong people, and he published an investment book titled "I Borrowed My First Ten Million from Buffett."

However, no one expected that a recent lawsuit would reveal the most melodramatic family drama.

Spouse's Hidden Camera Steals BTC via Mnemonic Phrase

In 2023, Huo Liao Sen's divorce case reached the High Court of the UK, where he accused his spouse, Li Huanyong, who was in the process of separation, and her sister of secretly installing hidden cameras in their luxurious mansion in Brighton, UK, capturing the entire process of him entering the cold wallet PIN code and storing the mnemonic phrase, directly transferring 2,323 BTC.

The case recently sparked heated discussions among netizens in Hong Kong and other regions after being reported by Hong Kong's "Sing Tao Daily," "Hong Kong Economic Journal," and the UK's "Daily Mail" and "The Times."

The incident dates back to 2023. At that time, Huo Liao Sen and Li Huanyong were in the midst of a divorce. In early July, the catalyst for the situation was actually their eldest daughter. She privately revealed to Huo Liao Sen that her mother might be eyeing Bitcoin.

Huo Liao Sen became alert and did not confront her directly but secretly installed recording devices at home to gather evidence.

According to court documents, the recordings captured a conversation between Li Huanyong and her sister. Li Huanyong said, "The Bitcoin has already been transferred to me, but will anyone find out that you took it?"

A more critical and accusatory dialogue followed: "It's fine, just take it all."

They also discussed money laundering risks, using a second wallet, and whether they would be targeted by the police... These conversations later became key evidence in court.

Huo Liao Sen's testimony to the court clearly stated that Li Huanyong secretly installed hidden cameras in the mansion specifically to record him operating the Trezor cold wallet.

The cold wallet was not connected to the internet and was protected by a 6-digit PIN code. The core was a mnemonic phrase of 24 words. As long as someone obtained the mnemonic phrase, they could restore the entire wallet on a different device, instantly transferring ownership of the funds.

Later, the 2,323 BTC was indeed moved—transferred in batches to 71 different addresses, and it has not moved since. Huo Liao Sen was dissatisfied and confronted Li Huanyong, resulting in his own arrest. He admitted to one count of actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault. Afterward, he immediately reported to the police, accusing Li Huanyong of stealing the coins. In December, Li Huanyong was arrested by the UK police and released on bail. During the police search, they found 10 cold wallets, 5 sets of mnemonic phrases, and several luxury watches, some of which were confirmed to be Huo Liao Sen's property. However, at that time, the police stated there was no new evidence and did not investigate further.

As of March 2026, the case has been officially transferred to the High Court of the UK for trial. The presiding judge, Cotter, pointed out after reviewing the transcripts of the recordings that the evidence held by the plaintiff was "devastating" and explicitly stated that the probability of winning was extremely high. Given the volatile nature of cryptocurrency prices, the judge specifically approved a global freeze order, aiming to ensure the value of the relevant assets through an expedited trial. Although the defendant, Li Huanyong, firmly denied knowledge of the asset transfer by submitting an affidavit, the court has ruled to allow the civil litigation process to continue.

Huo Liao Sen's Rise and Controversies

However, behind Huo Liao Sen's career achievements lies a series of negative controversies.

He graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a degree in accounting in 2003. In his early years, he worked as a commentator for Hong Kong radio and financial magazines, gaining fame for his accurate predictions of the market before and after the 2007-2008 financial crisis (such as being bearish on the property market and bullish on gold/yens), earning him the title of "Young Stock God." He accumulated initial capital through publishing several bestselling investment books, hosting financial programs, and personal stock investments.

He later invested in Bitcoin, elevating his wealth to a new level.

In his testimony to the High Court of the UK, Huo Liao Sen stated that he began purchasing and holding large amounts of Bitcoin as early as 2010 to 2013 (when Bitcoin prices were a few dollars to a few hundred dollars).

Holding 2,323 Bitcoins to this day, if calculated at a price of $100,000, it would be worth $232.3 million. At the current price of $70,000, it would be worth approximately $163 million.

However, in 2017-2018, there were complaints about the virtual currency vending machine investments he promoted losing money.

According to reports from multiple media outlets, Huo Liao Sen vigorously promoted a cryptocurrency called HE15 on his social media platforms and lectures, where investors had to pay about HKD 20,000 to 30,000 to purchase a so-called "cloud mining machine." This machine did not need to be brought home and was operated by a hosting center, generating virtual currency daily, which could be exchanged for BTC or ETH on platforms associated with Huo Liao Sen.

In mid-2018, the price of HE15 plummeted, and the exchange channels were blocked, leading investors to discover that their assets could not be withdrawn or were nearly worthless. Some investors even found that the so-called "high-performance mining machines" actually had very low hardware configurations and were priced far above market value.

In early 2019, over 100 victims sought help from the Hong Kong Democratic Party and reported to the police, with the total amount involved estimated to exceed HKD 20 million.

In April 2019, the Hong Kong Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) took action, arresting several personnel associated with the company on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Huo Liao Sen was then identified as the KOL for the project, but he subsequently moved to the UK.