Bitcoin valued at $15 billion has been seized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) from a massive "pig butchering" network, and in what officials say is the "largest forfeiture action in U.S. history."
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, unsealed an indictment Tuesday charging Chen Zhi, also known as "Vincent," leader of the Prince Holding Group, in connection with the crypto scam scheme, based out of Cambodia.
Zhi, 37, who is still at large, is also accused of directing Prince Group’s operation of forced-labor scam compounds across the country. The DOJ said Zhi used violence to discipline workers.
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Images of beatings were included in the evidence unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Prosecutors also allege the company was a front for one of Asia’s largest criminal enterprises.
"As alleged, the defendant directed one of the largest investment fraud operations in history, fueling an illicit industry that is reaching epidemic proportions," said Joseph Nocella, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
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According to court documents seen by FOX Business, Zhi built Prince Group, which claimed to invest in real estate, finance, and consumer services across more than 30 countries, into a massive network of "phone farm" compounds.
There, trafficked workers were allegedly forced to carry out scams that lured victims online through fake romantic relationships, pleas for financial help, or promises of lucrative cryptocurrency investments. Such schemes are referred to as "Sha Zhu Pan" or "pig butchering," according to the DOJ.
Prosecutors said Zhi company generated up to $30 million per day at its peak, stealing crypto funds that were laundered through what's known as unhosted digital wallets, which puts users in charge.
The 127,271 bitcoins, worth $15 billion and now in U.S. custody, were allegedly held in the wallets controlled by Zhi.
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The Treasury Department has now designated Prince Group as a "transnational criminal organization" and announced sanctions against Zhi and his associates.
"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," said FBI Director Kash Patel in a statement.
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"Today the FBI and partners executed one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history," Patel added.
FOX Business has reached out to the DOJ and Prince Holding Group for comment.
FOX Business' Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.
