The US Department of Justice said Thursday it has frozen more than $701 million in cryptocurrency tied to investment scams targeting Americans as part of an ongoing crackdown.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the operation was led by the US Scam Center Strike Force in coordination with law enforcement partners, focusing on scam networks aimed at U.S. victims. The funds were “restrained” through a combination of voluntary cooperation from crypto exchanges and legal actions.
“The Scam Center Strike Force continues its work to identify, seize, and forfeit funds involved in money laundering related to scams, so that funds can be returned to victims whenever possible,” the office said.
The scale of the seizure is significant. In March last year, Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile funded through confiscated crypto assets.
As part of the crackdown, authorities also seized a Telegram channel allegedly used to recruit job seekers into a crypto scam operation based in Cambodia, and took down multiple fraudulent investment websites.
Authorities said at least 503 fake investment websites used to lure victims into depositing cryptocurrency were taken offline and replaced with seizure notices informing visitors the domains had been taken over by law enforcement.
Meanwhile, criminal complaints and arrest warrants against Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie—both Chinese nationals—were unsealed.
Prosecutors allege the two operated a crypto investment fraud scheme from the Shunda compound in Burma, a site seized by the Karen National Liberation Army in November 2025.
In a related move, the US Department of State announced a $10 million reward for information that could help disrupt the Tai Chang scam centers in Burma.
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to combat crypto-related fraud, with the U.S. not alone in its crackdown.
The Singapore Police Force said its Anti-Scam Center and Cyber Investigation Branch conducted a month-long operation from March 16 to April 15, preventing more than $2.86 million in potential losses.
The initiative involved collaboration with several crypto platforms, including Coinbase, Coinhako, Gemini, and Independent Reserve, along with blockchain analytics firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis, which helped identify victims.
“The operation’s success stemmed from the rapid exchange of information between the police and participating cryptocurrency exchanges, which enabled swift victim identification and immediate intervention,” the Singapore police said.
“Officers conducted over 90 direct interventions, contacting scam victims both by telephone and in person to prevent further financial losses,” they added.
Separately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported in April that it received more than one million complaints in 2025, with total cybercrime-related losses reaching about $21 billion.
