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The U.S. Department of Justice said a coordinated "Disruption Week" operation under its Scam Center Strike Force disrupted cyber-enabled fraud and cryptocurrency investment scam networks targeting Americans, including so-called pig butchering operations tied to compounds in Cambodia, Laos, and Burma near the Thailand border. Working with U.S. agencies, foreign law enforcement, major technology firms, and blockchain companies, the effort disrupted more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts, interrupted malicious network activity, decommissioned scam infrastructure, and froze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency allegedly used to launder victim funds.
Authorities said the networks are linked to transnational organized crime, including Chinese syndicates, and often rely on trafficked workers forced to run fraud schemes under threat of violence. The operation also led to the arrest of seven suspected scammers in Thailand, additional cases opened by the Royal Thai Police Anti Cyber Scam Center, and referrals for further U.S. investigation. DOJ said reported U.S. losses from cryptocurrency investment fraud continued to surge, rising from $3.96 billion in 2023 to $5.8 billion in 2024 and more than $7.2 billion in 2025.
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As part of the operation, authorities and industry partners helped freeze more than $3.8 million in cryptocurrency linked to laundering funds stolen from scam victims.
During Disruption Week, participating companies disrupted more than 1.4 million social media and email accounts, interrupted malicious network activity, and decommissioned infrastructure tied to Southeast Asian scam networks.
Authorities in Thailand arrested seven scammers connected to the fraud networks, and the Royal Thai Police Anti Cyber Scam Center opened new cases for further investigation.
The Department of Justice launched the Scam Center Strike Force to combat cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering tied to scam compounds and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
On June 3, 2026, the DOJ publicly announced the results of the first-of-its-kind Disruption Week operation against pig butchering and related cyber-enabled fraud targeting Americans.
On May 18, 2026, the DOJ and partners launched a coordinated "Disruption Week" operation targeting cyber-enabled fraud and cryptocurrency investment scam networks in Southeast Asia that targeted Americans.
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U.S. authorities and private-sector partners disrupted transnational scam compounds in Southeast Asia that were tied to **pig-butchering cryptocurrency fraud**, broader confidence scams, and human trafficking networks used to supply forced labor. Reporting says the **Scam Center Strike Force**, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia with support from the DOJ, FBI, Secret Service, Treasury, and State Department, helped neutralize **1.4 million malicious accounts**, disable supporting infrastructure, and seize more than **500 fake investment domains**. Meta, Microsoft, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other partners were also identified as participants in the disruption effort. The campaign was paired with financial and enforcement actions aimed at the ecosystem enabling the fraud. According to public reporting, U.S. authorities froze more than **$832 million** in cryptocurrency and seized major Telegram recruitment channels allegedly used to traffic workers into scam compounds. Treasury also announced sanctions against a Burma-based armed group and associated companies linked to organized crime targeting Americans, underscoring a broader U.S. effort to pressure entities accused of protecting or facilitating the scam-center industry.
Jul 18, 2026
U.S., Chinese, Thai, and Dubai law enforcement agencies disrupted a major cryptocurrency investment fraud network by raiding at least nine scam centers in Dubai and arresting 276 people across the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The investigation began after the FBI received complaints from American victims who lost millions of dollars in so-called pig-butchering schemes, and authorities said the operation used fake online personas, romance-style social engineering, and fraudulent crypto investment platforms to steal funds from victims worldwide. U.S. prosecutors in San Diego unsealed fraud and money laundering charges against alleged operators **Thet Min Nyi**, **Wiliang Awang**, **Andreas Chandra**, and **Lisa Mariam**, along with two fugitive co-conspirators. Investigators said the network operated through **Ko Thet Company**, **Sanduo Group**, and **Giant Company**, luring victims to bogus platforms including `CoinswiftTrading` and `SwiftLedger`, then moving stolen money through cryptocurrency accounts to obstruct recovery. The Justice Department said the action forms part of its broader Scam Center Strike Force campaign against cyber-enabled fraud that reportedly cost Americans **$16 billion** in the prior year.
Jun 29, 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice, in collaboration with federal law enforcement and interagency partners, has intensified efforts to combat large-scale cryptocurrency-enabled fraud originating from Southeast Asia. This includes the creation of the Scam Center Strike Force, which targets scam compounds that use forced labor to perpetrate investment fraud, and the designation of groups such as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and companies like Trans Asia and Troth Star for their roles in these operations. The U.S. government estimates that Americans lost at least $10 billion to such scams in 2024, a significant increase from previous years, and has already seized over $401 million in cryptocurrency assets, with further forfeiture actions underway. A notable case in this crackdown involves the Prince Group, led by Chen Zhi, which operated forced-labor scam compounds in Cambodia. The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Chen Zhi for wire fraud and money laundering, and filed a civil forfeiture complaint for approximately 127,271 Bitcoin—proceeds from these illicit activities. The Chinese National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has alleged that the U.S. may have acquired these bitcoins from a 2020 attack on the LuBian bitcoin mining pool, raising geopolitical tensions. The Prince Group action is seen as a landmark in the ongoing U.S. campaign to disrupt the infrastructure behind Southeast Asian pig butchering scams and related cybercrime.
Jul 12, 2026