US Operation Targets Crypto Scam Compounds in Multibillion-Dollar Fraud Raid

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US authorities have made hundreds of arrests and confiscated over $8 billion in Bitcoin as part of a significant crackdown targeting industrial fraud complexes linked to scams, money laundering, and human trafficking.

The operation has targeted multiple criminal networks accused of stealing billions from victims worldwide through investment and romance scams. According to AML Intelligence, the FBI seized over 127,000 Bitcoin from Chen Zhi alone in what officials described as the largest forfeiture in US government history. The cryptocurrency is currently valued at more than $8 billion, though it may have been worth over $15 billion when seized.

Chen Zhi was the chairman of the notorious Prince Holding Group, based in Cambodia. He was arrested and extradited to China in January 2026.

Chen has also been charged by US prosecutors with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy over allegations that Prince Group operated industrial fraud complexes that used forced labor in Cambodia.

The crackdown also targeted fraud compounds across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In Dubai, local police and the FBI arrested 275 people in Dubai, with six expected to face extradition to the US. 

Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, said: 

The FBI has been leading the charge, from taking down Prince Group in Cambodia to Operation Sand Dollar in Dubai. We helped free nearly 2,000 trafficked workers, shut down more than $8 billion in scam center fraud, and arrested nearly 300 people. If you target Americans, we will find you, disrupt your network, and bring every available tool of the federal government down on you.

The action builds on earlier US efforts to target Southeast Asian crypto scam centers, including the launch of the Scam Center Strike Force in November 2025. 

The case follows Sumsub’s recent investigation with Erin West into Cambodia’s scam-compound economy, which found how some operations appear to be adapting after enforcement pressure.