U.S. Department of Justice freezes $701 million in cryptocurrency, busts large-scale pig butchering scam

Techub News reports that the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section Task Force, in coordination with law enforcement partners, has frozen over $701 million in cryptocurrency linked to overseas investment scams targeting Americans. This marks one of the largest single-day enforcement actions against Southeast Asian "pig butchering" networks to date. In addition to the asset freeze, a Telegram channel used to recruit job seekers into Cambodian scam compounds has been taken down, and over 503 fraudulent investment websites have been seized and replaced with law enforcement warning pages. Federal prosecutors have also filed criminal charges against two Chinese nationals, Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wenjie (transliterations), accusing them of involvement in cryptocurrency investment fraud operations at the Shunda compound in Myanmar. The U.S. State Department has further offered a reward of up to $10 million for information related to the Tai Chang scam center in Myanmar.