{"id":16994,"date":"2025-10-14T20:06:32","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=16994"},"modified":"2025-10-14T20:06:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:06:32","slug":"massive-bitcoin-bust-15-billion-tied-to-cambodian-pig-butchering-scheme-uncovered-by-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/massive-bitcoin-bust-15-billion-tied-to-cambodian-pig-butchering-scheme-uncovered-by-doj\/","title":{"rendered":"Massive Bitcoin Bust: $15 Billion Tied to Cambodian &#8216;Pig Butchering&#8217; Scheme Uncovered by DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> &#8220;`html<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"trusted-editorial-content trusted-editorial-content--top\">\n<div class=\"trusted-editorial-content__text\"><u>Reliable Editorial<\/u> content, examined by prominent industry specialists and experienced editors. <a href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Ad Disclosure<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has proclaimed its most substantial cryptocurrency confiscation to date, seizing around $15 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto wallets associated with a man managing an extensive \u201cpig butchering\u201d deception operation located in Cambodia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This notable operation was outlined in an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/chairman-prince-group-indicted-operating-cambodian-forced-labor-scam-compounds-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">indictment <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday, accusing the alleged fraudster, Chen Zhi, also referred to as \u201cVincent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prince Group\u2019s Suspected Fraud Tactics<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chen Zhi is the creator and chairman of the Prince Holding Group, a global conglomerate headquartered in Cambodia. Prosecutors assert that under his guidance, the group secretly developed into one of Asia\u2019s most expansive transnational criminal entities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">US Attorney Joseph Nocella described Zhi\u2019s actions as leading \u201cone of the most significant investment fraud operations in history,\u201d contributing to what the Attorney refers to as an \u201cillicit industry\u201d that has escalated to \u201cepidemic proportions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Nocella, \u201cPrince Group\u2019s investment scams have resulted in billions of dollars in losses and immense suffering for victims globally, including here in New York, at the expense of individuals who have been trafficked and forced to labor against their will.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hundreds Trafficked for Bitcoin Fraud<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The US Attorney\u2019s Office disclosed that individuals held in these facilities were coerced into partaking in cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes, commonly labeled as \u201cpig butchering\u201d scams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Funds transferred by victims were stolen and laundered to profit the criminals. The offenders allegedly fostered relationships with their victims over time, gaining their trust before seizing their money. Prosecutors emphasized that \u201chundreds of individuals\u201d were trafficked and forced to participate in these fraudulent operations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Moreover, Zhi and a network of high-ranking executives within the Prince Group are accused of exploiting political connections across numerous countries to protect their illicit endeavors. They allegedly offered bribes to public officials, thus effectively avoiding law enforcement scrutiny.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1814px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/x\/LQwLgG4K\/\" alt=\"Bitcoin\" width=\"1814\" height=\"928\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 1D chart illustrates BTC\u2019s heightened volatility. Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tradingview.com\/chart\/7W2R5XTA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">BTCUSDT on TradingView.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $112,340, continuing its downward trend after a short recovery above $115,000 on Monday. As of now, Bitcoin is nearly 11% below all-time high levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"trusted-editorial-content trusted-editorial-content--bottom\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/safe.png\" class=\"trusted-editorial-content__icon\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Editorial Process<\/strong> for bitcoinist is focused on providing thoroughly researched, precise, and impartial content. We maintain stringent sourcing criteria, and each page receives careful review by our team of leading technology specialists and experienced editors. This ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our audience.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoinist.com\/dojs-largest-bitcoin-seizure-15-billion-in-btc\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n&#8220;`<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;`html Reliable Editorial content, examined by prominent industry specialists and experienced editors. Ad Disclosure The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has proclaimed its most substantial cryptocurrency confiscation to date, seizing around $15 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto wallets associated with a man managing an extensive \u201cpig butchering\u201d deception operation located in Cambodia.\u00a0 This<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[3909],"class_list":["post-16994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin","tag-gptreturn-a-list-of-comma-separated-tags-from-this-title-dojs-largest-bitcoin-seizure-15-billion-in-btc-linked-to-cambodian-pig-butchering-scam-gpt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Massive Bitcoin Bust: $15 Billion Tied to Cambodian &#039;Pig Butchering&#039; Scheme Uncovered by DOJ - WSJ-Crypto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/massive-bitcoin-bust-15-billion-tied-to-cambodian-pig-butchering-scheme-uncovered-by-doj\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Massive Bitcoin Bust: $15 Billion Tied to Cambodian &#039;Pig Butchering&#039; Scheme Uncovered by DOJ - WSJ-Crypto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&#8220;`html Reliable Editorial content, examined by prominent industry specialists and experienced editors. 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