U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, along with major federal law enforcement and interagency partners, has announced actions taken by the Department of Justice against cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams originating in Southeast Asia, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The release said the Scam Center Strike Force and the Department of the Treasury took coordinated action against Xinbi Guarantee, an illicit marketplace for scam services. The Strike Force also deployed personnel to Madagascar to assist local authorities in taking down 13 Chinese-run scam compounds.
About $52 million in cryptocurrency linked to scam-related money laundering was seized in a single day, bringing the total amount of cryptocurrency restrained by the Scam Center Strike Force to approximately $938 million.
READ: DOJ seizes $560,000 in cryptocurrency tied to alleged Hamas fundraising scheme (September 1, 2026)
“If Chinese organized crime can buy a custom website and a money laundering service the way you order takeout, then every American with a retirement account is in the blast radius,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “My Strike Force will continue to dismantle Chinese organized crime, those who facilitate it, and protect Main Street America.”
A seizure warrant alleges that Xinbi operated a Chinese-language marketplace on Telegram where vendors advertised custom scam investment websites, money-laundering services and the recruitment of trafficking victims to work in Southeast Asian scam compounds.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, separately sanctioned Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and identified numerous cryptocurrency wallets associated with it. Officials also sanctioned Singapore-based SafeW Technology Co. and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology Co., saying the companies materially supported Xinbi’s operations.
OFAC said Xinbi had processed more than $24 billion in digital assets and traditional currency since launching around 2022. It said Xinbi began moving portions of its merchant and money-laundering network to SafeW, an encrypted messaging app, around June 2025 as law enforcement scrutiny increased.
READ: OpenAI to pay $3.2 million to settle DOJ visa hiring discrimination case (August 5, 2026)
Xinbi also launched XinbiPay, also known as NewPay, a cryptocurrency wallet and payment application.
According to Fox26 News, the FBI received about 453,000 complaints involving cyber-enabled fraud in 2025, with reported losses exceeding $17.7 billion. About half of those reported losses came from investment-related fraud. Americans reported more than $11 billion in losses involving cryptocurrency.
Pirro also announced that the Strike Force is expanding its focus to scam compounds worldwide. A team spent two weeks in Madagascar helping local authorities take down 13 scam centers allegedly operated by Chinese organized-crime syndicates.
“Transnational criminal organizations don’t care about borders, and the Department of Justice won’t either,” said Michael J. Heyman, U.S. attorney for the District of Alaska. “We are proud to be part of the Scam Center Strike Force and will work to eliminate these international scam networks and bring justice to U.S. fraud victims across the country.”
Credit: Source link
