The Department of Justice has announced the criminal indictment of a U.K. and Cambodian national and simultaneously said it had filed a civil forfeiture action against $15 billion of connected cryptocurrency assets, the largest forfeiture action in the DOJ's history.
A Brooklyn federal grand jury indicted Chen Zhi, also known as 'Vincent,' 37, the founder and chairman of Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group (Prince Group), for allegedly running a vast cryptocurrency investment fraud network built on forced labor.
According to the unsealed indictment, Prince Group operated scam compounds across Cambodia where individuals were held against their will and forced to carry out "pig butchering" crypto investment schemes — online scams that lured victims into fraudulent digital asset investments and stole billions of dollars from people in the United States and worldwide.
Zhi faces charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy for directing these operations.
DOJ investigators report that Zhi is on the run.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a release, "Today, the FBI and partners executed one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history."
Patel said, "This is an individual who allegedly operated a vast criminal network across multiple continents involving forced labor, money laundering, investment schemes, and stolen assets — targeting millions of innocent victims in the process."
The scale of the operation is difficult to grasp.
"As alleged, the defendant directed one of the largest investment fraud operations in history, fueling an illicit industry that is reaching epidemic proportions," said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York.
"Pig butchering" schemes involve elaborate attempts to convince investors to trust scammers with their funds.
The U.S. Secret Service describes the process as a combination of romance fraud, social engineering, and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
The scammer builds emotional rapport, introduces fake trading/investment platforms, and eventually convinces the victim to send real funds (often in crypto) that are never returned.
Nocella said, "Prince Group's investment scams have caused billions of dollars in losses and untold misery to victims around the world, including here in New York, on the backs of individuals who have been trafficked and forced to work against their will."
The DOJ said one scam network connected to the scheme operated in Brooklyn, New York, and facilitated the fraudulent transfer and laundering of millions of dollars on behalf of Prince Group from over 250 victims in New York and across the country.
The elaborate scheme is claimed to have relied on "automated call centers that used thousands of phones and millions of mobile telephone numbers to facilitate the various fraudulent schemes."
If captured and convicted, Zhi faces up to 40 years in prison.
DOJ investigators said they are continuing to work the case, and more arrests and forfeiture actions are possible, if not probable.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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