Chinese poker player Zhewen Hu has filed a lawsuit in a US federal court alleging that he lost $1 million through an AI-related cryptocurrency investment that he claims was part of a fraudulent scheme.
Hu, whose poker results include a runner-up finish worth almost $760,000 in a World Series of Poker Online bracelet event, filed the complaint against Dr. Yongfeng Zhang and AIOS Foundation in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.
The lawsuit was filed on August 28, 2026 and has been classified by the court as a securities and commodities case. Its stated cause of action relates to US securities fraud law.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Zhang and AIOS Foundation are defendants in a civil lawsuit, and the filing represents Hu’s account of events.
Zhewen Hu Alleges $1 Million Loss in AIOS Investment
According to reports on the complaint, Hu alleges that he invested $1 million in AIOS, a cryptocurrency project connected with artificial intelligence.
Hu claims he was induced to make the investment through representations about the project and alleges that the subsequent handling and promotion of the cryptocurrency amounted to a “pump and dump” scheme.
The case is listed as Hu v. Zhang et al., case number 2:2026cv11151. The federal court docket records Zhewen Hu as the plaintiff and Dr. Yongfeng Zhang and AIOS Foundation as defendants.
Court records state that the complaint was filed with a jury demand. The nature of the suit is listed as “Securities/Commodities”, with the stated cause of action under 15 U.S.C. §77.
At this stage, these remain allegations made by Hu. The filing of a lawsuit does not establish liability or prove the claims contained within the complaint.
Who Is Poker Player Zhewen Hu?
The size of the alleged loss becomes particularly notable when viewed alongside Hu’s poker career.
Hu is an experienced Chinese tournament player who has competed at the World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, Triton Poker Super High Roller Series and other major international events.
WSOP records currently credit Hu with more than $1.66 million in earnings across 58 cashes. That figure includes online WSOP events where his identity has been associated with the results.
His biggest recorded poker payday came in August 2022.
Hu reached heads-up play in the $10,000 WSOP Online Super Million$ High Roller, a bracelet event that attracted 593 entries. He eventually finished second behind David Yan and collected $759,974.
That single result accounts for almost half of the poker earnings currently recorded for Hu by the WSOP.
Zhewen Hu Poker Results
Some of Hu’s most notable tournament performances include:
- $759,974 for second in the 2022 WSOP Online $10,000 Super Million$ High Roller
- $192,420 for ninth in a $10,300 online tournament in 2023
- $102,000 for fifth in a $25,000 EPT Cyprus event in 2024
- $86,100 for 80th in the 2024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event
- $83,000 recorded for a Triton Poker Monte Carlo result in November 2024
- $74,512 for sixth in a WSOP Paradise $10,400 six-handed high roller in 2023
Hu has therefore played regularly at stakes where tournament buy-ins can reach $25,000 and $30,000.
A claimed $1 million investment loss is nevertheless enormous even by those standards.
Poker, Crypto and AI Collide in Federal Lawsuit
The case brings together three industries that have increasingly overlapped in recent years: poker, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
Poker players were among the early adopters of cryptocurrency, particularly as digital assets offered an alternative method for moving funds internationally. Crypto has subsequently become deeply embedded in parts of the online poker economy, from deposits and withdrawals to poker platforms built specifically around digital currencies.
AI is now developing a similarly complicated relationship with poker.
Solver technology and increasingly sophisticated training software have transformed the way serious players study the game, while AI-powered tools are expanding into areas ranging from poker coaching to game analysis.
Hu’s lawsuit sits at a very different intersection of those worlds.
Rather than involving poker play itself, the case concerns allegations that money accumulated by a successful high-stakes poker player was invested in an AI-related cryptocurrency project and subsequently lost.
What Happens Next in Hu v. Zhang?
The lawsuit is at an early stage.
The August 28 filing begins the federal civil proceedings, and the defendants will have the opportunity to respond to Hu’s allegations through the court process.
Hu has requested a jury trial.
The case could ultimately be dismissed, settled or proceed further through the federal court system. Until evidence is tested and the court reaches findings, the allegations contained in Hu’s complaint should not be treated as established fact.
For poker followers, however, the amount involved makes the case notable.
Hu has spent years accumulating seven figures in recorded tournament earnings, including competing against some of the world’s strongest players at WSOP, EPT and Triton events. He is now alleging that an amount equivalent to roughly 60% of the total poker earnings currently recorded for him by the WSOP was lost through a cryptocurrency investment.
That makes Hu v. Zhang an unusual high-stakes battle away from the poker table, and one Poker Type will be watching as the federal case develops.
