U.S. authorities restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency tied to Southeast Asian scam centers targeting Americans, the Justice Department said Thursday. Prosecutors also charged two Chinese nationals, Huang Xing Shan and Jiang Wen Jie, with wire fraud conspiracy.
Officials said the men managed the Shunda Park compound in Myanmar, where workers ran crypto fraud schemes through fake investment websites. Many workers were allegedly trafficked, held against their will and forced to contact victims online.
The FBI said scammers posed as trusted contacts, financial workers or officials before pushing victims into fake crypto platforms. The fraud continued until victims ran out of money or discovered the scheme.
Scam Websites, Telegram Channel Seized
The crackdown also took down 503 scam websites and seized a Telegram channel used to recruit workers into scam compounds. Investigators also recovered more than 1,300 computers and thousands of phones linked to the operation.
Huang and Jiang were arrested in Thailand after allegedly leaving Myanmar and moving operations toward Cambodia. They remain in Thai custody, and U.S. officials are seeking to bring them to court.
The case forms part of a wider U.S. campaign against scam networks in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. The Treasury Department also sanctioned Cambodian senator Kok An and related businesses, while the State Department offered rewards tied to scam proceeds and suspected operators.
