{"id":13395,"date":"2025-10-14T19:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T19:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/u-s-seizes-15b-bitcoin-in-forced-labor-crypto-scam-case\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T19:14:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T19:14:12","slug":"u-s-seizes-15b-bitcoin-in-forced-labor-crypto-scam-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/u-s-seizes-15b-bitcoin-in-forced-labor-crypto-scam-case\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. seizes $15b Bitcoin in forced-labor crypto scam case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">U.S. federal agents have seized a historic $15 billion in Bitcoin, allegedly the proceeds of a Cambodian criminal network that forced trafficked individuals to run sophisticated cryptocurrency \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams on a global scale.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_2ba97a2d81f4dcfb863e41b56497ae1a\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>U.S. authorities seized $15b in Bitcoin from unhosted wallets tied to Prince Group founder Chen Zhi, marking the DOJ\u2019s largest forfeiture in history.<\/li>\n<li>Prosecutors allege Zhi ran forced-labor compounds in Cambodia where trafficked workers executed global \u201cpig butchering\u201d crypto scams.<\/li>\n<li>The indictment details how Prince Group used its multinational business network to launder funds through complex crypto techniques and luxury purchases, including a Picasso painting.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>On Oct. 14, the U.S. Department of Justice <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">announced<\/a> the largest forfeiture action in its history, seizing approximately 127,271 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at roughly $15 billion, from unhosted wallets linked to UK and Cambodian national Chen Zhi.<\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment in Brooklyn, charging the Prince Group chairman with masterminding a transnational criminal enterprise that operated forced-labor compounds in Cambodia.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ alleges these compounds were the engine for industrial-scale \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams that defrauded global victims, with a single Brooklyn-based cell moving millions from more than 250 people stateside. Chen Zhi remains at large.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Inside the Prince Group empire<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>According to the unsealed indictment, Chen Zhi founded the Prince Group around 2015, cultivating a public image as the chairman of a legitimate multinational conglomerate. The group\u2019s portfolio ostensibly included real estate development, financial services, and consumer services, with operations spanning more than 30 countries.<\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors allege this extensive corporate network was little more than a sophisticated front. Behind the veneer of legitimate business, Zhi and his top executives are accused of transforming the organization into one of Asia\u2019s most formidable transnational criminal enterprises, using its global reach to orchestrate a brutal fraud operation.<\/p>\n<p>The secret criminal operations were allegedly directed from the top. Court documents state Zhi was personally involved in managing the scam compounds, maintaining meticulous records that tracked profits and specific fraudulent schemes run out of individual rooms.<\/p>\n<p>He is also accused of overseeing \u201cphone farms,\u201d automated call centers within the compounds that utilized thousands of phones and millions of phone numbers to target victims globally. The indictment further claims Zhi communicated directly with subordinates about using violence against trafficked workers, instructing them to beat individuals who \u201ccaused trouble\u201d but cautioning that they should not be \u201cbeaten to death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors allege that individuals, held against their will in compounds described as prison-like camps surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, were forced to contact potential victims through messaging and social media apps. Posing as trustworthy contacts, they built relationships over time before steering conversations to fraudulent cryptocurrency investments.<\/p>\n<p>Victims were then persuaded to transfer crypto to specified accounts with promises of high returns, only to have their funds stolen and laundered for the benefit of the syndicate. This \u201cpig butchering\u201d process, fueled by forced labor, generated billions in illicit profits.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Laundering the empire\u2019s digital profits<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To obscure the massive flow of illicit funds, Prince Group associates, at Zhi\u2019s direction, employed advanced cryptocurrency laundering techniques. Prosecutors detail the use of \u201cspraying\u201d and \u201cfunneling,\u201d a process where large volumes of cryptocurrency were repeatedly broken down across scores of wallets and then re-consolidated to break the audit trail.<\/p>\n<p>A portion of the criminal proceeds were eventually held in wallets at various cryptocurrency exchanges or converted to traditional fiat currency. The core of the seized assets, however, comprising 127,271 Bitcoin, was held in unhosted wallets, with Zhi personally controlling the private keys.<\/p>\n<p>Zhi and his associates allegedly used the illicit gains to fund a lifestyle of staggering opulence, with extravagant purchases including watches, yachts, private jets, and vacation homes.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Zhi is accused of using stolen funds to acquire a Picasso painting through a New York City auction house, embedding the proceeds of human suffering within the world\u2019s most exclusive luxury markets.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. federal agents have seized a historic $15 billion in Bitcoin, allegedly the proceeds of a Cambodian criminal network that forced trafficked individuals to run sophisticated cryptocurrency \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13396,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13395\/revisions\/13396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}