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The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it has frozen more than $701 million in cryptocurrency tied to large-scale investment fraud schemes targeting victims across the United States. The action forms part of an ongoing enforcement campaign aimed at disrupting global scam infrastructure.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the US Scam Center Strike Force, together with multiple domestic and international partners, has been actively dismantling scam centers designed specifically to target American victims.
Authorities stated that the cryptocurrency was “restrained” through a combination of voluntary cooperation from crypto exchanges and formal legal procedures, allowing law enforcement to secure the assets while investigations continue.
Officials added that the Strike Force remains focused on tracing, seizing, and forfeiting illicit funds tied to money laundering and fraud operations, with the broader goal of returning recovered assets to victims whenever possible.
As part of the same operation, authorities also shut down a Telegram channel that was being used to recruit unsuspecting individuals into a crypto scam center based in Cambodia. In addition, more than 503 fraudulent investment websites were taken offline. These sites had been used to lure victims into depositing cryptocurrency, and were replaced with official seizure notices confirming law enforcement action.
In a related development, US authorities unsealed criminal complaints and arrest warrants against two Chinese nationals, Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie. The individuals are accused of operating a large-scale crypto investment fraud scheme from the Shunda compound in Burma, a site that was reportedly seized by the Karen National Liberation Army in November 2025.
To further support ongoing investigations, the US State Department has announced a $10 million reward for information that could disrupt the Tai Chang scam networks operating in Burma.
The United States is not the only jurisdiction intensifying action against crypto-related scams. In Singapore, the Singapore Police Force, through its Anti-Scam Center and Cyber Investigation Branch, conducted a month-long operation between March 16 and April 15 that successfully prevented over $2.86 million in potential losses.
This operation involved close collaboration with major crypto platforms including Coinbase, Gemini, Coinhako, and Independent Reserve, as well as blockchain analytics firms such as TRM Labs and Chainalysis.
Authorities highlighted that the success of the operation was largely driven by rapid data sharing between law enforcement and exchanges, enabling early identification of victims and timely intervention. Officers carried out more than 90 direct interventions, contacting victims both by phone and in person to prevent additional financial losses.
Meanwhile, data from the FBI indicates the scale of the problem continues to grow. In April, the agency reported receiving over one million cybercrime complaints in 2025 alone, with total reported losses reaching approximately $21 billion, underscoring the expanding reach and sophistication of digital fraud networks.
What stands out from these coordinated operations is the increasing shift toward real-time, cross-border enforcement as a structural layer of crypto security. Rather than reacting after losses occur, regulators and exchanges are now working more closely to intercept funds, dismantle infrastructure, and identify victims earlier in the cycle. The integration of blockchain analytics firms into these efforts also signals that compliance is no longer just a regulatory function but a data-driven ecosystem. Over time, this could reshape how trust is built in the crypto industry, where security is defined less by decentralization alone and more by the speed and effectiveness of coordinated intervention.
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