D.C. Scam Center Strike Force Seizes Over $580 Million in Crypto from Chinese Crime Syndicates Behind U.S. “Pig Butchering” Scams.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that the D.C. Scam Center Strike Force has now frozen, seized, or initiated forfeiture proceedings against more than $580 million in cryptocurrency tied to Chinese transnational criminal organizations running large‑scale “pig butchering” and other crypto investment scams targeting Americans. According to the announcement, these funds were traced to scam compounds in Southeast Asia that use U.S. internet and social media platforms to conduct long‑running confidence schemes that collectively defraud Americans of an estimated $10 billion per year. The seizures have occurred in roughly the first three months of the Strike Force’s work since its formal launch in late 2025, and authorities say they will seek to forfeit and return these assets to victims through court proceedings. The Scam Center Strike Force is a Justice Department initiative led by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro in partnership with DOJ’s Criminal Division, the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the DEA, and multiple U.S. Attorney’s Offices. It focuses on dismantling so‑called scam centers in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar), where Chinese organized crime affiliates run cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber‑enabled fraud, human trafficking, and money‑laundering operations. The Strike Force is simultaneously targeting overseas scam infrastructure and U.S.-based enablers—such as internet service, social media, and other accounts—that provide the means to reach American victims, while working with private companies to disrupt accounts and freeze funds, as highlighted in a related “Disruption Week” operation that cut off millions of scam accounts and helped freeze additional crypto tied to these schemes. U.S. authorities describe “pig butchering” as a form of cryptocurrency investment fraud in which scammers build trust with victims over time—often via social media, messaging apps, or dating platforms—before convincing them to move increasingly large sums into fraudulent trading platforms controlled by the criminals. Officials note that in some Southeast Asian jurisdictions, revenue from such scam operations is so large that it can account for a significant share of national GDP, underlining both the scale of the fraud and the entrenched role of Chinese transnational crime syndicates in the regional economy. The Strike Force’s growing tally of restrained crypto—over $580 million under this announcement and more than $725 million in total crypto noted on its program page—positions these seizures as a central U.S. response to the broader crisis of cross‑border crypto fraud affecting retail investors and households in the United States. "entities":["D.C. Scam Center Strike Force","U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia","U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)","Jeanine Ferris Pirro","Chinese transnational criminal organizations","Chinese organized crime affiliates","FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)","U.S. Secret Service","IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)","U.S. Postal Inspection Service","Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)","Scam compounds in Southeast Asia","Cambodia","Laos","Burma (Myanmar)","Cryptocurrency investment fraud (CIF)","Pig butchering scams","A. Tysen Duva","U.S. Department of State","Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Treasury","Department of Commerce","U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Alaska, Rhode Island, and Western Washington"]}Note: The above citations refer to the following sources: IRS Criminal Investigation release on the $580M seizures; DOJ D.C. Scam Center Strike Force program page; DOJ “Disruption Week” announcement.

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