The Department of Justice announced a major international takedown of foreign-run cryptocurrency scam centers that reportedly led to at least 276 arrests and the shutdown of nine overseas fraud compounds, disrupting long-running networks that stole millions from Americans.
Federal prosecutors described these operations as organized criminal enterprises with recruiters, managers, and layered systems built to target U.S. victims at scale. Investigators say the networks ran “pig-butchering” schemes, where perpetrators spent weeks cultivating trust online before steering victims into fake cryptocurrency platforms that displayed fabricated gains.
Victims were shown convincing dashboards and pressured into sending more money, sometimes borrowing from friends and family or taking out loans to chase losses they did not yet recognize. Once funds were transferred, they were quickly laundered and dispersed through a maze of accounts to hide the trail.
The action brought together law enforcement from the FBI, Dubai Police, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, and Thailand’s Royal Thai Police in what officials called an unprecedented coordination effort. That level of cooperation sent a clear signal that cross-border fraud targeting Americans will not be tolerated or ignored.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California unsealed charges tied to three fraud organizations identified as “Ko Thet Company,” “Sanduo Group,” and “Giant Company.” Among those charged are individuals identified by name and nationality, and two co-conspirators remain fugitives, each facing up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Fines for the alleged schemes vary by count, reaching up to $250,000 for wire fraud conspiracy and up to $500,000 for money laundering conspiracy, reflecting the seriousness of the allegations. The charges illustrate a straight-forward principle: those who run large-scale scams against Americans will face significant penalties when law enforcement catches up to them.
This crackdown aligns with the Trump administration’s focus on going after foreign-backed fraud and cybercrime, anchored by an Executive Order that directed federal resources toward these threats. Officials say the investigation operated under Executive Order 14159, described as part of a broader push to protect Americans from foreign exploitation and financial predation.
“These scammers thought they were safe half a world away,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “But their world has changed. Global crime now faces global justice.”
“Fraudsters who target Americans from overseas cannot operate with impunity, no matter where in the world they reside,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said. “The charges and arrests announced today reflect an international consensus that scam centers are unwelcome everywhere and must be rooted out. In contemporary society, fraud is borderless, and law enforcement activity to combat it and eliminate it is as well.”
The timing of this enforcement is notable given the scale of losses Americans suffered to fraud last year, with reports indicating a record $15.9 billion taken in 2025. Those figures hide heartbreaking individual stories: seniors, working families, and people who trusted someone they believed cared about them, only to have their financial security dismantled.
The FBI’s Operation Level Up, launched in 2024, is cited as part of the wider effort that has notified thousands of victims and helped prevent substantial losses. As of April 2026, that program reportedly notified nearly 9,000 victims and saved an estimated $562 million in losses, demonstrating concrete results from focused enforcement.
Investigators are also pursuing other transnational networks accused of running the same playbook, such as the Tai Chang Scam Enterprise tied to compounds in Burma’s Karen State. The pattern shows a persistent, organized industry of fraudsters exploiting online platforms to reach American targets from abroad.
Private platforms played a role in the investigation by providing data that helped track and identify elements of these networks, and companies removed millions of suspected scam ads and disabled numerous accounts connected to these operations. Those actions came only after pressure from investigators and reflect a necessary partnership between government and technology firms to protect consumers.
Foreign criminals built a business model on the assumption that national borders would shield them while they preyed on Americans, but this coordinated law enforcement response challenges that assumption. The arrests and unsealed charges make plain that the United States and its partners are willing to take the fight to overseas operators who exploit our citizens and our financial system.
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