US Charges Cambodian Executive in Massive Crypto Scam and Seizes More Than 4 Billion in Bitcoin
The U.S. government has seized more than 4 billion in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian conglomerate in a massive cryptocurrency scam, accusing him and unnamed co-conspirators of exploiting forced labor to dupe would-be investors and using the proceeds to purchase yachts, jets and a Picasso painting.
In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged Prince Holding Group chairman Chen Zhi with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. At the same time, U.S. and British authorities imposed sanctions on Chen’s company, which is involved in real estate development and financial services, and the Treasury Department declared it a transnational criminal organization.
According to Chen’s indictment, Prince Holding Group built at least 10 compounds in Cambodia where workers — often migrants held against their will — were forced to contact thousands of victims through social media or online messaging platforms, build rapport, and entice them to transfer cryptocurrency with hopes of big investment returns.
The compounds functioned as forced labor camps, with dormitories surrounded by high walls and barbed wire fences, and automated call centers with hundreds of mobile phones lined up on racks controlling tens of thousands of fake social media profiles, prosecutors said. One compound was associated with Prince Holding Group’s Jinbei Casino Hotel. Another was known as “Golden Fortune.”
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