US Freezes ₱43.18 billion ($700 million) in Crypto From Myanmar Scam Compounds
The Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force froze ₱43.18 billion ($700 million) in cryptocurrency and dismantled 503 fake investment websites used by traffickers who enslaved workers in Myanmar compounds to impersonate US banks and law enforcement.
Key Takeaway
US froze $700 million in crypto from Southeast Asian scam compounds that enslaved workers to steal billions from victims.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced charges against Chinese nationals Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Ji, who forced thousands of trafficked workers to run cryptocurrency scams from a Myanmar compound. Workers were beaten and ordered to impersonate US banks and the NYPD to drain victims' accounts through messaging apps.
The Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force — launched in November 2025 with the FBI, Secret Service, and Treasury — has frozen ₱43.18 billion ($700 million) in cryptocurrency and taken down 503 fake investment sites. Cryptocurrency investment scam losses hit ₱444.12 billion ($7.2 billion) in 2025, up 24 percent from the previous year.
US and Thai authorities dismantled the Shunda compound operation in 2025, recovering 8,000 mobile phones and 1,300 computers. Both suspects are held in Thailand on immigration charges, and the US is pursuing extradition under its treaty with Bangkok.
The State Department is offering ₱616.84 million ($10 million) for information leading to asset seizures tied to the Tai Chang scam network in Myanmar. Pirro said US law enforcement is coordinating with authorities across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, to crack down on similar operations in Cambodia, Burma, and Laos. One Telegram channel used to recruit forced laborers had over 6,000 followers.
Pirro emphasized that these criminals thought they were untouchable because they operate overseas, but the US has proved them wrong. The crackdown targets both the financial infrastructure and the trafficking networks behind the scams, which involve torture and forced labor alongside the theft of life savings. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center logged the $7.2 billion in reported losses from cryptocurrency investment scams across 2025.
