The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on October 14, 2025 that it had seized about $15 billion in Bitcoin which was linked with schemes known as pig butchering scams.
According to the DoJ:
- Cambodian national Chen Zhi has been charged with money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy in connection with the pig butchering fraud.
- Zhi directed the operation of forced labor scam compounds run by Prince Holding Group (Prince Group), a transnational criminal organization.
- The Prince Group’s investment scams were carried out by people held against their well inside the compounds.
- The investment scams were cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes.
- Stolen funds were laundered through Prince Group’s ostensibly legal businesses.
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How the Prince Group Built a $15 Billion Crypto Crime Network
According to an indictment filed in federal court on October 8, 2025:
- Chen Zhi, since about 2015, has been the Chairman of the Prince Group, a Cambodian corporate conglomerate which ran dozens of businesses in over 30 countries.
- Prince Group, a multinational business conglomerate based in the country of Cambodia, was ostensibly focused on consumer services, financial services and real estate development
- In reality, Prince Group was one of the largest investment fraud operations ever
- Prince Group made huge profits by running forced labor compounds in Cambodia which engaged in fraudulent schemes including cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes
- Prince Group used a vast network of businesses to launder the cryptocurrency and money it made
- Victims who were tricked by the group into investing money lost billions of dollars
How the Scam Targeted Victims Worldwide
According to the DoJ indictment:
- The Prince Group’s pig butchering scams usually involved four stages.
- First, perpetrators would use fictitious identities and cold contact victims on social media or messaging apps. The perpetrators would often pretend they had contacted the wrong number and would continue to communicate with their victims.
- Second, the perpetrators would establish relationships and build trust with victims by messaging the victims for days, weeks or even months.
- Third, the perpetrators would devise narratives to induce victims to send payments via virtual currency. They would often use narratives such as romance scams, emergencies necessitating funds or lucrative investment opportunities. They would convince their victims to use fake websites or apps to invest in cryptocurrency. They would coach their victims through the entire investment process, show them fake profits and encourage them to continue to invest in fake investment platforms.
- Finally, the scam perpetrators would cut off all contact once funds had been successfully stolen.
- Perpetrators were given instructions by the Prince Group on how they could build rapport with victims, including directions to use pictures of women who weren’t “too beautiful” so accounts would appear to be genuine.
- The Prince Group was earning in excess of $30 million per day at one point from fraudulent schemes.
Cambodia Forced Labor and Pig-Butchering Compounds
According to the DoJ indictment:
- The pig butchering scams were carried out via forced labor.
- Thousands of migrant workers who traveled to Cambodia and other places seeking work opportunities were trafficked and forced to labor in scam compounds, often threatened with violence.
- These scam compounds, which were forced labor camps, featured vast dormitories which were surrounded with barbed wire and high walls.
- The Prince Group built and ran at least ten of these scam compounds in Cambodia.
- A Prince Group associate talked with Zhi about beating someone who “caused trouble” at once of the compounds. Zhi approved of this beating, instructing that the person not get “beaten to death,” adding that “we must keep an eye on them and not let them run away.”
- The group ran “phone farms,” which were automated call centers that were used to facilitate crypto fraud and additional cybercrimes.
- Two facilities contained 1,250 mobile phones which controlled 76,000 social media accounts.
Iran and China: Stolen Bitcoin from Mining Operations
- Prince Group allegedly laundered illicit proceeds by funding large-scale crypto mining operations, including a company named LuBian, which operated in China and Iran.
- According to the DoJ indictment, LuBian’s mining operation was at one point the sixth largest Bitcoin mining operation on the planet.
- LuBian, at one point, controlled almost six percent of global Bitcoin mining.
- In August 2025, it was disclosed by Arkham Intelligence that over 127,000 BTC (worth about $3.5 billion at that time) was suspected to have been stolen from LuBian in December 2020.
- This theft appears to have been due to a hack which exploited a weakness in the algorithm which LuBian utilized to generate cryptographic keys.
- According to the DoJ indictment, the over 127,000 BTC seized from Zhi were previously held in the LuBian bitcoin addresses that Bitcoins were “stolen” from.
Laundering Techniques and Use of Funds
According to the DoJ indictment:
- Zhi laundered the profits from the Prince Group criminal enterprise through numerous networks, including professional money laundering operations as well as by using the Prince Group’s businesses, including cryptocurrency mining and online gambling.
- They then used the funds for luxury entertainment and travel and to buy things like yachts, watches, vacation homes, private jets, and artwork such as a Picasso painting.
- Professional laundering operations received funds stolen from scam victims then funneled the funds back to the Prince Group.
- A common method was collecting cryptocurrency, off-ramping it into fiat currency, then using the cash to buy clean cryptocurrencies.
- Zhi laundered fraudulent proceeds via shell companies which had little purpose other than laundering funds.
- Zhi also laundered funds through Prince Group businesses, including an online gambling business. The gambling business was run through mirror websites to avoid law enforcement disruption.
- Funds were laundered through cryptocurrency mining operations, including LuBian.
- Illicit funds were systematically combined with newly mined cryptocurrency in order to obscure the funds’ origins.
- Multiple layers of laundering were often employed to obscure the sources of Prince Group’s profits.
Human Impact and Global Outrage
- Thousands of people lost savings to Prince Group’s pig-butchering and crypto investment schemes, potentially falling into financial ruin.
- A South Korean student’s death tied to a Cambodian scam compound sparked international condemnation. The student died due to “severe torture” and had been beaten so severely he couldn’t breathe or walk.
- Rights groups say these compounds combine human trafficking and financial fraud.
- Sanctions by the United States and the United Kingdom signal growing global enforcement against crypto-crime rings.
What This Means for Crypto Crime Enforcement
- The seizure of $15 billion in cryptocurrency shows that law enforcement can trace cryptocurrency even across borders.
- The seizure and indictment of Zhi highlight the intersection of cybercrime, human trafficking and money laundering.
- The seizure and indictment may set a precedent for seizing cryptocurrency tied to organized fraud and forced labor networks.
How Victims of Pig Butchering Fraud Can Recover Lost Crypto
- Victims of pig butchering scams or cryptocurrency investment scams may pursue claims for financial recovery.
- Civil lawsuits may name scammers, facilitators and crypto exchanges used for laundering as defendants, seeking to recover financial compensation from them.
- Blockchain forensics can trace transactions to recoverable assets or frozen cryptocurrency wallets.
- Our law firm helps victims file claims and join restitution efforts through United States courts.
Contact our Crypto Fraud Lawyers Today
Our crypto fraud lawyers:
- Are pioneers in cryptocurrency law
- Are dedicated to retrieving victims’ lost assets and holding fraudsters accountable
- Understand cryptocurrency’s complex nature and will fight for justice for you
- Employ blockchain forensics tools in order to trace stolen funds’ movements and collect evidence to strengthen cases
- Work closely with global partners and law enforcement agencies to track down scammers and make sure they’re held accountable
- Have extensive experience navigating crypto fraud cases’ legal complexities
- Have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients
- Have been helping clients recover financial compensation for over 35 years
Call us today for a FREE consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one lost cryptocurrency due to crypto fraud or a pig butchering scam.
