US launches Scam Center Strike Force to combat S.E. Asia-based crypto fraud

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the formation of a new Scam Center Strike Force to disrupt and prosecute cryptocurrency-related fraud operations run by Chinese transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) operating out of Southeast Asia.

The announcement, made on 12 November by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, marks the launch of the first Scam Center Strike Force under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia. It is a broad inter-agency effort involving the DOJ’s Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service, and other federal agencies.

According to U.S. authorities, these schemes involve scammers using social media or text messages to build trust with victims before persuading them to invest in fake cryptocurrency platforms. These scams have reportedly led to nearly US$10 billion (S$13 billion) in annual losses for American victims, with much of the infrastructure for fraud hosted by U.S. companies but managed offshore.

“These scams are creating a generational wealth transfer from Main Street America into the pockets of Chinese organised crime,” said Attorney Pirro. “As the prosecuting office in the nation’s capital, my office has the authority to charge foreign defendants and seize foreign property.”

The DOJ emphasised that these operations often originate from heavily fortified scam compounds in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Workers in these compounds are frequently victims of human trafficking, forced to perpetrate scams under the threat of violence. In some cases, fraudulent revenue from these centres accounts for nearly half of local GDP, according to law enforcement.

The Strike Force’s activities to date have already produced significant results. Authorities have seized and forfeited over US$401 million in cryptocurrency linked to these schemes. Forfeiture proceedings for an additional US$80 million are now underway, with a focus on returning stolen funds to victims.

In Burma (Myanmar), the Strike Force’s operations have included the seizure of scam-related websites and efforts to obtain warrants for the confiscation of satellite terminals used by scam centres to connect to the internet. The Treasury Department designated the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and associated groups as specially designated nationals under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing their assets and prohibiting U.S. persons from conducting business with them.

The FBI and Secret Service have highlighted a marked rise in such scams since 2019. Assistant Director Kyo Dolan of the Secret Service noted that in fiscal year 2025 alone, the agency responded to nearly 3,000 victims reporting cryptocurrency investment scams.

Gregory Heeb, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI, said the scams have a lasting impact on victims and that the FBI, in collaboration with global partners, will work to dismantle these networks.

In one operation, Strike Force teams in Burma targeted the Tai Chang compound and initiated efforts to dismantle satellite internet connectivity crucial to scam operations. Elsewhere, a regional Strike Force team uncovered a network of scam centres in Bali, which had defrauded over 150 U.S.-based victims. Information shared by the Strike Force aided local law enforcement in the arrest and prosecution of 38 individuals.

In another significant development, FBI agents have been deployed to embed with the Royal Thai Police War Room Task Force to target large-scale scam compounds like KK Park in Myanmar.

The effort has seen growing cooperation across borders. In a related move, Thailand extradited a Chinese-born Cambodian individual to China in early November at Beijing’s request, underscoring the joint pressure by both the U.S. and China on Southeast Asian governments to act against scam compounds operating in the region.

The U.S. initiative also aims to disrupt the domestic infrastructure enabling these scams. The Strike Force will collaborate with internet service providers and social media companies in the U.S. to sever access routes that scammers use to reach American victims.

U.S. authorities emphasised that a public-private partnership is essential to secure the country’s digital and financial infrastructure from being exploited. Pirro appealed to U.S. corporations to actively participate in dismantling the networks used by scammers, highlighting the national security implications of the issue.

The Strike Force’s team includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert, Kevin Rosenberg, Rick Blaylock, Jolie Zimmerman, and Raj Datta, along with trial attorneys from the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Their work has been supported by FBI field offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, Nashville, and Honolulu, as well as the Secret Service’s San Francisco and Memphis offices.

Additionally, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Swe announced on 13 November that in the past two years, nearly 68,000 foreign nationals from 52 countries had been deported for illegal entry linked to scam operations. The minister also called for enhanced cross-border cooperation to cut off access to the electricity, internet, and financial services that enable scam centres to function.

In a notable forfeiture case from October, the chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group was charged by the U.S. with operating a global cyber fraud empire. The case involved the seizure of Bitcoin worth US$15 billion, which authorities described as the largest-ever cryptocurrency forfeiture action.

Authorities underscored that the Scam Center Strike Force will use every legal and investigative tool available to pursue justice for victims, secure infrastructure, and stem the tide of illicit wealth transfer from American households to international criminal syndicates.