Federal authorities in Washington have seized or frozen more than $580 million in cryptocurrency linked to scam centres operating across Southeast Asia.
Prosecutors said the funds were connected to operations allegedly run by Chinese transnational criminal groups targeting victims abroad.
The seizures were carried out by the Scam Center Strike Force, a newly formed unit focused on dismantling so-called “pig butchering” investment fraud schemes.
Officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia confirmed the action marks one of the largest coordinated crypto enforcement efforts to date.
Investigators explained that these schemes often begin with unsolicited contact through social media platforms or text messages.
Victims are gradually drawn into conversations where trust is built before being encouraged to purchase legitimate cryptocurrency.
Authorities said the funds are then funnelled into fraudulent trading websites and mobile applications controlled entirely by criminal operators.
Law enforcement described the tactic as a calculated confidence scam designed to extract increasingly larger sums over time.
The Department of Justice stated that cutting off access to digital assets weakens the financial backbone of these organised networks.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro highlighted the speed of the operation following the strike force’s launch earlier this year.
"In only three months, we have made significant progress, freezing, seizing, and forfeiting cryptocurrency worth more than $580 million,"
Jeanine Ferris Pirro said.
Prosecutors noted that the recovered digital assets represent only a portion of the total losses suffered by victims.
Recent estimates cited by officials suggest Americans may be losing close to $10 billion annually to these types of scams.
Authorities warned that many cases remain unreported, meaning the true scale of the fraud could be even higher.
The Justice Department indicated that further investigations are ongoing as it works to identify additional wallets and facilitators tied to the schemes.