The Justice Department, in partnership with U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, announced sweeping actions targeting sprawling cryptocurrency scam networks based in Southeast Asia, as the State Department unveiled multimillion-dollar rewards for information leading to arrests and asset seizures tied to the schemes.
Federal prosecutors charged multiple people linked to scam compounds in Cambodia and Myanmar, part of a broader effort by the United States to combat cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes against Americans.
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Charges were brought against the Chinese bosses running a scam compound in Myanmar, called the Tai Chang scam center. A Telegram channel luring workers into forced labor at a camp in Cambodia was also taken down.
Pirro described the operations as highly organized, industrial-scale fraud hubs that attract victims with fake cryptocurrency investments and romance scams, often draining life savings. In many cases, trafficked workers are forced to carry out schemes under threat of violence, described by Pirro as “slave labor.”
The operations are not small, Pirro said during a press briefing Thursday, describing compounds “as large as cities” where victims are coerced into scamming others. She said the forced workers end up at the operations from fake job postings.
The “Scam Center Strike Force,” launched last year by Pirro in partnership with the State Department, Secret Service, and FBI, has halted more than $700 million in cryptocurrency allegedly tied to the schemes, she said.
Pirro said the strike force plans to return the money stolen from victims, but with an amount that large, it could take time.
The State Department is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds from fraud and money laundering schemes in Cambodia and Myanmar, and up to $4 million for the arrest of a fugitive accused of laundering tens of millions in stolen funds.
Treasury officials simultaneously imposed sanctions on Cambodian Senator Kok An, who allegedly controls a network of compounds in his country, targeting Americans with digital asset scams. Additionally, 28 other individuals and entities tied to Kok’s network were sanctioned for allegedly facilitating fraud.
The crackdown follows a surge in reported losses. Data from the FBI shows that Americans lost more than $20 billion to cyber-enabled fraud last year, with cryptocurrency investment scams accounting for the largest share.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly amplifying the threat of fraud schemes. AI tools allow scammers to generate convincing messages, impersonate law enforcement or financial institutions, and create realistic digital backdrops that make fraudulent interactions appear legitimate.
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The technology also enables criminals to scale operations more efficiently, automating outreach across social media, messaging apps, and email while tailoring scams to individual victims.
Pirro said the Tai Chang network used real people to mimic American accents and identities to gain trust.
