The government has seized $15 billion in bitcoin from an alleged cryptocurrency fraud kingpin accused of running forced labor camps in Cambodia, where prisoners were forced to run “pig-butchering” scams on victims around the world.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn announced the seizure Tuesday, along with an indictment against the scheme’s alleged leader, Chen Zhi, or “Vincent,” the founder and chairman of the Prince Holding Group in Cambodia. Zhi, 37, who remains at large, is charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Chen and his co-conspirators used their ill-gotten gains to buy yachts, jets, and a Picasso painting from a New York-based auction house, the feds allege.
As the feds describe it, “pig butchering” scammers contact their victims through text messages or social networks, then convince them to invest in bogus crypto funds.
Typically, the scammer cold-contacts a victim with a message, often pretending to have the wrong number. They’ll keep communicating with their mark, though, then direct the conversation to investment opportunities, claim they’re in need of money for an emergency, or start a fake romance.
From there, they’ll trick victims into signing up to fraudulent websites and apps, steal their money and go silent, the feds allege.
The Prince Group employed thousands of trafficked migrant workers who came to Cambodia looking for work, trapping them in compounds with “vast dormitories surrounded by high walls and barbed wire,” the feds said in court filings.
Chen oversaw 10 of these compounds, and approved using beatings and violence to keep the workers in line, the feds allege.
They also allegedly ran massive “phone farms” — including one wall of 1,250 cell phones that could access 76,000 social media accounts,
Chen’s Prince Group also allegedly.used local networks, including one in Brooklyn, to help launder around $18 million in stolen funds from more than 250 victims through shell companies.
“As alleged, the defendant directed one of the largest investment fraud operations in history, fueling an illicit industry that is reaching epidemic proportions,” U.S. Attorney Joseph 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.”
