DOJ Launches Strike Force, Seizes $401M to Dismantle ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams in Asia
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the creation of the Scam Center Strike Force — a new unit tasked with dismantling criminal networks operating across Southeast Asia. These groups lure Americans into fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes promising quick profits, a practice known as “pig butchering.” Criminals cultivate trust over weeks or months before ensnaring victims in sham investment platforms.
Its first operations were sweeping in scale: the Strike Force conducted raids on two compounds in Burma and seized more than $401.6 million in digital assets, which authorities intend to return to victims. Additional filings seek the forfeiture of a further $80 million obtained through the same tactics.
According to the DOJ, transnational Chinese crime syndicates inflict nearly $10 billion in annual losses on U.S. residents. Many workers inside these scam centers are themselves victims of human trafficking — held under guard, intimidated, and forced to target Americans.
The announcement of the Strike Force followed shortly after claims by Burma’s military of a “major operation” against the KK Park complex. While the military asserted that 150 facilities had been neutralized, independent sources deem those figures vastly inflated.
The Strike Force operates along several parallel tracks. Beyond overseas actions, the group is disabling U.S.-based infrastructure that enables scammers to reach American networks — communications equipment, ISPs, and services that carry their traffic. Another key mission is educating the public about the mechanics of these schemes and assisting victims in recovering stolen funds.
Pig butchering relies heavily on emotional manipulation. Fraudsters contact victims through Facebook, Instagram, or even ordinary text messages, often using U.S. phone numbers. Over time they cultivate an illusion of intimacy — friendly or romantic — before urging the target to invest in a fake crypto platform. Once the transfer is made, the scammer vanishes.
The U.S. Secret Service has recorded a dramatic surge in such cases since 2019. In 2025 alone, the agency received reports from roughly 3,000 victims.
The Strike Force has already carried out several operations. In Burma, its involvement helped identify sham websites used to recruit victims and secure warrants for the seizure of satellite equipment that supported the scheme and laundered proceeds. On Bali, 38 Indonesian nationals were arrested for allegedly targeting more than 150 Americans. Meanwhile, FBI personnel have begun working with the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok to suppress KK Park — one of the region’s largest hubs for fraud and human trafficking.
The Strike Force is also prioritizing partnerships with the private sector. Pyro expects major U.S. companies to help choke off criminal access to American infrastructure. Meta has already endorsed the initiative, pledging continued cooperation with law enforcement to dismantle fraudulent networks. SpaceX, for its part, has disabled more than 2,500 Starlink terminals used by criminal groups in Burma.
Meta has previously removed millions of accounts linked to forced labor operations in Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the UAE, and the Philippines. Workers were coerced into not only crypto scams but also loan fraud, gambling schemes, and impersonation of government services.
The new unit is working in concert with the State Department, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Department of Commerce. These agencies will impose sanctions on criminal leaders, cut off financial channels, and seize assets used in fraudulent operations.
From its inception, the Strike Force has operated at an accelerated pace — and its earliest actions suggest that the United States intends to systematically dismantle the criminal networks that profit from the trust and vulnerability of ordinary people.
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