US Federal authorities announced Thursday that more than $580 million in crypto tied to Chinese transnational criminal organizations has been seized or frozen as part of an aggressive crackdown on large-scale investment and confidence scams targeting Americans.
The action was carried out by the D.C. Scam Center Strike Force, a joint initiative involving the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
DOJ, FBI Dismantle Major Crypto Fraud PipelineUS Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the strike force was formed in November specifically to coordinate efforts against these operations. In just three months, she said, authorities have made substantial progress.
“These criminals don’t care who you are, what you believe in, or what you ate for breakfast — all they want is to steal from good and honest Americans to line the pockets of Chinese organized crime,” she said.
Pirro added that recovering crypto is only one element of the broader strategy. Her office intends to pursue forfeiture proceedings through the courts in an effort to return as much of the recovered funds to victims as possible.
How Overseas Fraud Networks Trap American VictimsTeams are working to identify and pursue senior figures within these organizations, including affiliates of Chinese organized crime groups believed to be directing operations from within those countries.
Many of the scams fall under the category of Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud, commonly referred to by fraudsters as “pig butchering.” The term reflects the method used: perpetrators spend weeks or months building relationships with victims — “fattening” them up — before persuading them to invest increasing sums of money.
Law enforcement officials say these schemes frequently begin with unsolicited messages on social media or text messages sent to US-based phone numbers.
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