If it is true he took 16000 btc then I am pretty sure such a scammer will never get away with it long term.
As I have read he was surely behind Bitebi9.com.
So IMO he kept a big amount in BTC, because he needs it for business...
well i dont think i would want to steal 16k btc... someone who got his btc taken is not going to forget about it.
also is it possible for a US citizen just to vanish to china forever when they have just stolen that much money from clients?