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The U.S. Scam Center Strike Force was launched on November 12, 2025—not August 18, 2026. The multi-agency initiative targets Southeast Asia-based scam compounds and the networks behind cryptocurrency investment fraud, money laundering, cybercrime and human trafficking. As of August 18, 2026, the Department of Justice’s official Strike Force page reported that its Crypto Seizure team had restrained $832,831,006.15 in cryptocurrency.
That figure does not mean $832 million has already been returned to victims. “Restrained,” “seized,” “forfeited,” “recovered” and “returned” describe different stages of the legal and financial process.
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The short answer
The Scam Center Strike Force is a U.S. law-enforcement initiative led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, working with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service. Its broader partners include the Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the State and Commerce departments, foreign authorities and private technology and cryptocurrency companies.
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According to the official DOJ overview, the initiative seeks to identify and prosecute major operators, disrupt the infrastructure that enables scams, sever access to accounts and platforms, educate the public and recover stolen funds.
Why the Strike Force was created
Many large cryptocurrency investment scams are run through transnational networks rather than by isolated fraudsters. Victims may be contacted in the United States, directed to a fake investment website hosted elsewhere, instructed to send cryptocurrency through multiple wallets and then pressured to pay additional “taxes,” “fees” or account-release charges.
The operations behind those schemes can include:
- Cryptocurrency investment fraud, often called “pig-butchering” scams;
- Romance and confidence scams;
- Government or law-enforcement impersonation;
- Employment and recruitment fraud;
- Gambling scams;
- Money laundering and cryptocurrency concealment; and
- Theft of victims’ digital assets.
The commonly used “pig-butchering” label refers to a process in which criminals build trust over time before persuading a victim to invest through a fraudulent platform. The platform may show fabricated balances and profits, even though the money has already been transferred to criminals.
How scam-center fraud typically works
- A criminal makes contact through a text message, social media, a dating app or an online community.
- The contact builds a relationship and establishes credibility over days or weeks.
- The victim is introduced to a supposed cryptocurrency or investment opportunity.
- A fake website or mobile app displays apparent deposits, trades and profits.
- The victim is urged to send increasingly large amounts of money or cryptocurrency.
- When the victim tries to withdraw funds, the operator demands a tax, fee, insurance payment or verification deposit.
- The platform disappears, the account is locked or the demands continue.
In its description of the Shunda compound, DOJ said fraudulent websites and mobile applications were disguised as legitimate investment platforms. The agency has also emphasized that the U.S. infrastructure used to support these schemes—including domains, online accounts and financial services—can be as important to an investigation as the physical compound where workers operate.
Why this is also a human-trafficking issue
Scam compounds are not simply offshore call centers. DOJ has alleged that some workers are recruited with promises of legitimate jobs, transported to compounds, stripped of their passports and forced to defraud victims under threats of violence or torture.
That does not mean every person inside a compound has the same role. Some may be trafficking victims, some may be willing participants and some may occupy both exploited and exploitative roles. Investigators therefore need to distinguish alleged organizers and enforcers from people who may have been coerced into carrying out the fraud.
The Strike Force’s stated geographic focus includes Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and areas near the Thailand–Myanmar border. The online infrastructure, victims, cryptocurrency wallets, money-laundering channels and workers can all be located in different countries.
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How the Strike Force operates
Criminal prosecutions
Federal prosecutors can charge alleged operators and managers in U.S. courts. Charges are allegations, however; a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Cryptocurrency tracing and asset restraints
Investigators trace transactions through blockchain records and seek legal authority to freeze or take control of cryptocurrency allegedly connected to fraud. This can prevent funds from being moved while forfeiture proceedings continue.
Sanctions
The Treasury Department and OFAC can designate people, companies and groups, restricting their access to the U.S. financial system and prohibiting certain transactions involving U.S. persons.
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Domain and platform seizures
Authorities can seize domains used as fake investment platforms and replace them with a law-enforcement notice. They may also work with hosting providers, social networks, domain registrars and cryptocurrency services to disrupt accounts and infrastructure.
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The Strike Force has targeted online channels allegedly used to recruit workers into scam compounds, including a Telegram channel connected by prosecutors to recruitment for a Cambodian compound.
International and private-sector cooperation
U.S. agencies generally cannot raid a foreign compound on their own. Their practical tools include evidence-sharing, indictments, sanctions, cooperation with local authorities, diplomatic engagement, domain seizures and action against money moving through U.S. financial or technology systems. The FBI also deployed agents to Bangkok to work with the Royal Thai Police War Room Task Force.
What happened in the Shunda case?
On April 23, 2026, DOJ announced charges against two Chinese nationals whom prosecutors alleged were involved in managing the Shunda scam compound in Min Let Pan, Burma/Myanmar.
According to the DOJ announcement:
- The compound allegedly operated from at least January 2025 until about November 2025.
- Workers were allegedly trafficked and forced to defraud victims.
- Huang Xingshan, also known as “Ah Zhe” or “Huang Xing Saan,” was identified as an alleged senior manager and enforcer.
- Jiang Wen Jie, also known as “Jiang Nan,” allegedly supervised workers targeting Americans.
- Both defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
These remain criminal allegations, not convictions. DOJ’s allegations about the defendants’ roles, the treatment of workers and the operation of the compound should not be treated as adjudicated facts.
The April 23, 2026 crackdown
DOJ described several coordinated actions on April 23:
- Charges against the two alleged Shunda managers;
- Restraint of more than $700 million in cryptocurrency allegedly linked to scam-center money laundering;
- Seizure of a Telegram channel allegedly used to recruit trafficking victims for a Cambodian scam compound;
- Seizure of 503 fake investment websites;
- Treasury sanctions against Cambodian scam-center operators, including Senator Kok An and associates;
- A State Department reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds associated with the Tai Chang scam centers; and
- Seizure of the Tai Chang domain
fortuneprimeglobalirts.com, following the earlier seizure oftickmilleas.com.
The FBI’s account of the Tai Chang investigation says the seized domain displayed a law-enforcement notice and directed victims to submit complaints to the FBI.
Timeline of major developments
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| November 12, 2025 | DOJ announced the creation of the D.C. Scam Center Strike Force. |
| December 2, 2025 | DOJ announced seizure of the Tai Chang-linked domain tickmilleas.com. |
| February 26, 2026 | DOJ said cryptocurrency freezes and seizures had exceeded $580 million. |
| March 6, 2026 | President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the administration to prioritize cybercrime, fraud and predatory schemes. DOJ says the Strike Force is a major mechanism for implementing that policy; the order did not create the Strike Force. |
| April 23, 2026 | DOJ announced the Shunda charges, more than $700 million restrained, 503 website seizures, a Telegram-channel seizure, sanctions and the Tai Chang reward. |
| April 30, 2026 | FBI San Diego provided additional details about the Tai Chang investigation and reward. |
| July 21, 2026 | DOJ announced another seizure of more than $25 million and said more than $800 million had been recovered through the Strike Force. |
| August 18, 2026 | The official Strike Force page reported $832,831,006.15 in restrained cryptocurrency. |
What does “$832 million restrained” mean?
The legal terms matter:
- Restrained: Assets have been legally frozen or held while proceedings continue.
- Seized: Government authorities have taken control under legal process.
- Forfeited: Ownership has been transferred to the government after a legal determination.
- Recovered: A broad term that may refer to seized or forfeited assets, depending on the agency’s usage.
- Returned: Funds have actually been distributed to victims.
Therefore, the most precise statement is that DOJ’s official page reported $832,831,006.15 in restrained cryptocurrency as of August 18, 2026. That is not the same as saying the government has returned that amount to victims. Asset forfeiture and victim-distribution proceedings can take time, and recovered assets may not cover every loss.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can victims get their money back?
Possibly, but there is no guarantee. A restraint can preserve assets for legal proceedings and potential victim compensation, but it does not automatically establish every victim’s claim or determine how much each person will receive.
A domain seizure or criminal charge can also disrupt a network without dismantling the entire organization. Criminal networks may relocate, rebrand, recruit new workers or move to different platforms. U.S. charges do not automatically result in a defendant’s arrest, custody or extradition.
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Anyone contacted by a supposed recovery agent should be especially cautious. A second scammer may claim to represent the government, a court, a cryptocurrency exchange or a law firm and demand a tax, release fee or intermediary payment. Those demands are common warning signs of a recovery scam.
What victims should do now
- Report the fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center: IC3.gov.
- Contact the cryptocurrency exchange or payment provider immediately. Recovery is not guaranteed, but rapid reporting may help preserve records or stop a transfer that has not settled.
- Preserve evidence. Save wallet addresses, transaction IDs, exchange records, screenshots, phone numbers, usernames, email addresses, domain names and chat logs.
- Do not send more money. Do not pay a supposed recovery agent, tax, release fee or law-enforcement intermediary.
- If the victim is 60 or older, call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
- If trafficking is suspected, report it to appropriate authorities and do not contact a suspected compound or trafficker directly.
Reporting helps investigators connect individual losses to larger networks, but it does not guarantee reimbursement.
What the Strike Force can—and cannot—do
The initiative can charge alleged foreign operators, trace and restrain cryptocurrency, seize domains and recruitment channels, impose sanctions, coordinate with foreign authorities and pursue asset-recovery proceedings.
It cannot guarantee that every victim will recover money, instantly shut down an entire scam model or independently take control of every foreign compound. Its results depend on evidence, legal proceedings, foreign cooperation, private-sector assistance and whether criminals have moved or concealed the proceeds.
The most accurate description is not that the United States has eliminated “pig-butchering” scams. It has disrupted specific networks and infrastructure while building cases against alleged operators and facilitators. The broader criminal ecosystem remains transnational and adaptable.
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