Scam Center Strike Force Conducts Seizures of Chinese-Run Illicit Scammer Marketplace, and Restrains $52 Million in Laundered Crypto Scammer Funds In One Day

WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, together with major federal law enforcement and interagency partners, announced actions taken by the Department of Justice's Scam Center Strike Force to secure America against Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams. The Strike Force and the Department of the Treasury took coordinated actions against Xinbi Guarantee ("Xinbi"), an illicit marketplace for scam services, and the Strike Force deployed to Madagascar to assist in the taking down of 13 Chinese-run scam compounds. Approximately $52 million of cryptocurrency involved in scam money laundering was restrained in one day, bringing the total restrained by the Scam Center Strike Force to approximately $938 million.

Joining in the announcement were U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman, FBI Criminal Division Deputy Assistant Director Matthew Floyd, Special Agent in Charge Tara McLeese of the United States Secret Service Washington Field Office, and Lisa Palluconi, Deputy Director of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control

"If Chinese organized crime can buy a custom website and a money laundering service the way you order takeout, then every American with a retirement account is in the blast radius," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "My Strike Force will continue to dismantle Chinese organized crime, those who facilitate it, and protect Main Street America."

As alleged in a seizure warrant unsealed today, Xinbi is a Chinese-language illicit marketplace, run on Telegram, where vendors market their services to scam center operators. The Telegram channel operated primarily in Chinese, and the vendors post their available services on the Telegram channel, to include creating custom scam investment websites, laundering or "washing" money that scammers obtain from victims of wire fraud, and soliciting trafficking victims to work in scam compounds in Southeast Asia. Once a scammer "purchases" a service from the vendor, Xinbi as an organization holds money to be paid to the vendor until the vendors services are complete, to assure the scammers that the vendors will perform the services. The seizure warrant alleged numerous instances where U.S. victims funds were traced to specific vendors who advertised their money laundering services on the Telegram channel, and posted cryptocurrency wallets for payment on Telegram. On September 7, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia authorized seizure of the Telegram channels hosting this marketplace.

Additionally, also pursuant to the same warrant, the Scam Center Strike Force seized two cryptocurrency wallets that Xinbi used to collect payments for vendors, which collectively held approximately $12 million in funds. Law enforcement also sought restraint of 47 additional cryptocurrency wallets that were believed to be associated with money laundering on Xinbi's network and with vendors who had worked for scammers. Due to all these coordinated efforts, more than $52 million worth of cryptocurrency was restrained from Xinbi and its network of vendors that facilitate the organized crime groups running scam centers around the globe. The Strike Force thanks Tether for its proactive assistance in this investigation.

Today, in further coordinated action, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and identified numerous cryptocurrency wallets associated with Xinbi. OFAC also designated two other entities for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Xinbi. As a result of today's action by OFAC, all property and interests in property of these three sanctioned entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. For more information, please see the Department of Treasury's press release at this link.

"After scamming money from hardworking Americans, criminals operating overseas laundered it through the Xinbi Guarantee network, which operated under the false assumption that they were out of the reach of U.S. law enforcement, said Tara McLeese, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office. "The efforts of our agents and investigative analysts to trace stolen funds and unveil the scope of this criminal network shows that while the methods of fraud may change, our resolve does not."

"Global crime faces global justice, and the FBI will stop at nothing to protect the finances that hardworking Americans build over their lifetimes," said FBI Chicago Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan Whalen. "Today's seizure demonstrates law enforcement and prosecutors' commitment to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling scam centers, no matter where they are in the world. The FBI is committed to working with domestic and international partners around the globe to stop scammers before they attack and hold these criminals accountable."

"Scam centers are not just criminal enterprises-they are engines of exploitation that devastate victims, families, and communities," said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. " These schemes target our elderly and most vulnerable, draining their finances, eroding their trust, and in many cases leaving lasting emotional harm. The FBI is committed to dismantling these networks, holding offenders accountable, and restoring a sense of security to the communities they prey upon."

Also today, U.S. Attorney Pirro announced that the Scam Center Strike Force will expand its scope to attack scam center compounds globally. In furtherance of that expanded focus, U.S. Attorney Pirro, together with U.S. Attorney Heyman and FBI Criminal Division Deputy Assistant Director Matthew Floyd, announced that the Strike Force had deployed a team to Madagascar to assist local law enforcement in cracking down on scam centers in that country. The Strike Force team, which was in country for two weeks, supported the local authorities related to the take down of 13 scam centers that were being operated by Chinese organized crime syndicates. The Strike Force team assisted in the processing of more than 3,200 electronic devices. The Strike Force team has also opened their own investigations on the basis of interviews conducted of the nearly 400 arrestees, at least approximately 30 of whom where Chinese leaders of the scam compounds, who were repatriated to China by the Chinese government.

"Transnational criminal organizations don't care about borders, and the Department of Justice won't either," said Michael J. Heyman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska. We are proud to be part of the Scam Center Strike Force and will work to eliminate these international scam networks and bring justice to U.S. fraud victims across the country."

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About the Scam Center Strike Force

The Scam Center Strike Force was officially launched by U.S. Attorney Pirro in November 2025 to address the growing threat posed by Chinese organized crime syndicates operating scam centers primarily in Southeast Asia. The Strike Force targets cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering operations that have cost American victims billions of dollars.

According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), cyber-enabled fraud schemes were responsible for almost 85% of all losses reported to IC3 in 2025. Within that category, CIF schemes have continued to grow, and the IC3 calculated the reported losses from CIF scams rose, from $4.57 billion in 2023, to $8.65 billion in 2025, an increase of 89%. These figures, largely based on losses reported by victims, likely significantly under-represent the true loss amounts incurred by Americans, since most fraud victims do not report to IC3, if at all.

On March 6, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Administration to prioritize cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes draining American families of their life savings. Through the Executive Order, President Trump is unleashing every available tool to stop foreign-backed criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans through cyber-enabled fraud. The Scam Center Strike Force is a critical node in executing the mission outlined in the President's Order.

Founded by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, the Strike Force has been joined it its work by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, Justice Department's Criminal Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations-DC, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Districts of Alaska, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Western Washington. The Strike Force works in collaboration with other federal agencies, including the Treasury and State Departments. The Strike Force works in strategic partnership with private industry and calls on all U.S. businesses to take more proactive steps to protect users from scam operations.

The Scam Center Strike Force will use every tool available to help secure Main Street Americans from these scams. With its interagency and public partners, it will educate Americans on how to identify these scams, prevent generational wealth from flowing from America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime, and work with unwavering focus to return stolen funds to victims.

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Karen P. Seifert for the District of Columbia directs the Strike Force. Today's seizures were handled by AUSA Seifert and AUSA Rick Blaylock, Jr., of the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office as well as AUSA Mac Caille Peturrson, of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska, along with the FBI's Chicago Field Office and U.S. Secret Service's Washington Field Office, with substantial assistance from Paralegals Peter Bleicken and Jessica In, both of the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office. The Madagascar investigations are being handled by AUSA Peturrson, with AUSAs Seifert and Blaylock, along with FBI's Honolulu Field Office. The FBI thanks authorities in Madagascar for their assistance.