US gov’t sues alleged SEA scam bosses

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

MANILA — The United States has filed criminal charges against two Chinese nationals and seized hundreds of scam-linked assets as part of a widening crackdown on cyber-enabled fraud operations in Southeast Asia, officials said during a U.S. Department of State media briefing on April 24.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Ferris Pirro, announced in a press release that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had charged two alleged managers of a cryptocurrency investment fraud compound in Myanmar.

Pirro described the operation as part of a broader effort by the Scam Center Strike Force, launched in November 2025.

“Today we announced significant milestones in that fight,” Pirro said. “We have charged the Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma, where thousands were trafficked, enslaved, beaten, and forced to steal from Americans for years.”

The DOJ press release said the suspects managed a large-scale fraud operation at the Shunda compound in Myanmar, where trafficked workers were forced to scam victims through fake cryptocurrency investment platforms.

Authorities also restrained more than USD 700 million in cryptocurrency tied to money laundering from scam proceeds and seized 503 fraudulent investment websites used to defraud victims.

In a press conference on Friday, April 24 (Philippine time), Pirro said the United States also shut down a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that had been used to recruit workers into forced labor at scam compounds in Cambodia.

“They were ordered there to pose as United States banks and even as the NYPD to steal Americans’ life savings,” Pirro told Southeast Asian media.

According to the DOJ, victims were deceived into transferring funds after scammers impersonated bank officials, law enforcement, and prosecutors, often through sustained pressure on messaging platforms.

The investigation followed a joint U.S.-Thailand operation after the Shunda compound was dismantled in 2025, yielding more than 8,000 mobile phones and over 1,300 computers that revealed a hierarchical structure of Chinese-led organized crime groups.

Pirro identified the defendants as Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Ji, who are currently in Thailand on immigration charges.

She said the U.S. is pursuing extradition.

“We have an extradition treaty with Thailand, and we will continue to pursue all of the options available to us to get these individuals into the United States to prosecute them here,” she said.

The crackdown comes amid a surge in so-called “pig butchering” scams, a form of long-term investment fraud that has become one of the fastest-growing cybercrimes globally.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, reported losses from cryptocurrency investment scams rose to more than USD 7.2 billion in 2025, up 24 percent from the previous year.

Pirro said Southeast Asia remains a major hub for such operations, particularly Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.

“We are mainly focused on Cambodia, Burma and Laos … which are the three hotspots according to most public reporting,” she said.

She added that scam centers continue to shift locations within the region to evade enforcement, with some operators relocating between Myanmar and Cambodia.

The DOJ also coordinated with the U.S. Treasury, which imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to scam operations, and the State Department, which offered up to USD 10 million in rewards for information leading to asset seizures tied to the Tai Chang scam network in Myanmar.

Pirro emphasized that the threat extends beyond financial losses, highlighting widespread human trafficking and abuse inside scam compounds.

“This is not just economic. This involves human trafficking as well as torture,” she said.

She called for stronger cooperation with governments across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, where U.S. law enforcement attaches are working with local authorities on related cases.

The Scam Center Strike Force, a multi-agency initiative involving the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, and DOJ, was created to target transnational criminal networks behind online fraud schemes.

“These criminals thought they were untouchable because they are overseas. Today we have proved them wrong, and we’re just getting started,” Pirro said.