U.S. Indicts Prince Group for Global Crypto Scam and Forced-Labor Operations

U.S. authorities have launched one of the largest crackdowns in history against transnational cybercrime, indicting Chen Zhi, the UK and Cambodian national and founder of Prince Group, for operating global forced-labor scam networks, including notorious “pig butchering” crypto frauds. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the indictment in New York, accusing Chen of money laundering and wire fraud. Officials also revealed the largest-ever crypto seizure—127,271 Bitcoin worth about $14.4 billion at current value.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi described the operation as a major strike against human trafficking and financial fraud. Simultaneously, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Prince Group, designating it a transnational criminal organization and freezing its assets, effectively banning U.S. entities from conducting business with it.

According to the DOJ, Chen and his associates expanded Prince Group into one of Asia’s largest criminal syndicates, trafficking workers into Cambodian compounds to run crypto scams under threats of violence. Victims, primarily in the United States, were deceived into transferring crypto funds under false romantic pretenses. Authorities also uncovered extravagant spending by Chen and his associates, including the purchase of high-end art like a Picasso painting.

In a related move, the Treasury also blacklisted Huione Group, another Cambodian conglomerate accused of laundering scam proceeds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that transnational crypto fraud has drained billions from American citizens.

The DOJ stated that the seized Bitcoin originated from LuBian, a crypto mining operation in China and Iran controlled by Chen, which mysteriously shut down in 2020 after the assets disappeared. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic noted uncertainty over how the bitcoins reached U.S. custody or whether a theft had actually occurred.

This unprecedented enforcement underscores Washington’s intensifying campaign to dismantle crypto-funded human trafficking and global financial crimes.