DOJ Moves To Seize $15 Billion In Bitcoin Linked To ‘Pig Butchering’ Fraud Schemes

The U.S. Department of Justice said it is seeking to seize roughly $15 billion in Bitcoin tied to a global “pig butchering” scam allegedly operated through forced-labor compounds across Cambodia by Chen Zhi, a U.K. and Cambodian national who founded Prince Holding Group. 

The indictment, unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn, charges Chen, also known as Vincent, with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. The Bitcoin — about 127,000 tokens — is already in U.S. custody. Chen remains at large.

Prosecutors said Chen orchestrated vast “pig butchering” cryptocurrency fraud schemes using trafficked workers across Cambodia to steal billions from victims across the world. Victims were manipulated into transferring digital assets to accounts controlled by the network, which investigators said generated billions in illicit proceeds later converted into Bitcoin and laundered through multiple wallets.

According to the filing, individuals detained in the compounds were forced to work long hours operating scam platforms that impersonated legitimate crypto and trading firms. The Justice Department described the operation as one of the largest “pig butchering” networks ever identified, referring to scams that combine romance fraud with high-yield crypto investment pitches to “fatten up” victims before defrauding them.

Prince Holding Group has not publicly commented on the indictment. The company, which has investments spanning real estate, finance, and hospitality, is one of Cambodia’s largest conglomerates.

Bitcoin’s price reached a record high of over $126,000 on October 6, but the leading cryptocurrency has since fallen more than 10% amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China. BTC’s price has slipped 1.8% in the last 24 hours, trading at $112,000 levels at the time of writing.

Read also: Bitcoin, Ethereum Drop After Heavy ETF Outflows Ahead Of Powell Speech

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