TL;DR
- The U.S. Department of Justice, together with major federal law enforcement and interagency partners, announced the creation of the first Scam Center Strike Force to secure America against Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams.
- OFAC also designated the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and associated entities for operating cyber scam centers targeting Americans.
- According to the OFAC press release, Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scam operations in 2024, a 66% increase year-over-year.
- The action targets companies like Trans Asia and Troth Star that develop scam compounds using forced labor to conduct cryptocurrency investment fraud.
- This designation follows October’s historic Prince Group action and demonstrates continued U.S. focus on disrupting the infrastructure enabling pig butchering scams.
- The Strike Force has already seized over $401 million in cryptocurrency and is pursuing an additional $80 million in forfeiture proceedings.
On November 12, 2025, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Secret Service, announced the establishment of a Scam Center Strike Force — a dedicated interagency task force to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute the most egregious Southeast Asian scam centers and their leaders. Concurrently, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a Burma-based armed group, along with four senior leaders and companies linked to Chinese organized crime for supporting cyber scam centers that target Americans.
$10 billion lost to Southeast Asian scams
The scale of cryptocurrency-enabled fraud originating from Southeast Asia has reached crisis levels. According to U.S. government estimates, Americans lost at least $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scam operations in 2024, representing a 66% increase over the prior year. These losses are driven primarily by “pig butchering” scams, whereby illicit actors build relationships with victims over weeks or months before convincing them to invest in fraudulent crypto platforms.
Through proactive victim notification programs, the FBI has contacted over 6,300 potential victims in the past 15-16 months, preventing an estimated $275 million in additional losses. Additionally, The U.S. Secret Service reported responding to approximately 3,000 victims who contacted the agency regarding cryptocurrency investment schemes in fiscal year 2025 alone.
The DKBA and scam compound infrastructure
The DKBA, an armed group that supports Burma’s ruling military regime, controls territory where major scam operations are located, including the Tai Chang compound near Myawaddy in Karen State. The compound was founded by Sai Kyaw Hla, a DKBA brigadier general, in partnership with Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Limited — Thailand-based company that serves as a front for China-based transnational criminal organizations.
Today’s action follows October’s unprecedented designation of the Prince Group Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) and 146 associated targets. Like the DKBA operations, Prince Group controlled scam compounds across Cambodia where trafficked workers were forced to conduct pig butchering scams under brutal conditions. The October action included a historic $15 billion civil forfeiture case involving approximately 127,000 bitcoin controlled by Prince Group leader Chen Zhi.
While today’s designation did not include specific crypto addresses, these operations rely heavily on crypto. Pig butchering scams direct victims to deposit funds into fraudulent investment platforms that appear legitimate but are controlled by scammers. Once victims make deposits — often in bitcoin, ethereum, or stablecoins — the scammers either immediately steal the funds or string victims along with fake “returns” to encourage larger deposits before disappearing.
Understanding the pig butchering threat landscape
Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin recently discussed the growing threat of pig butchering scams with former FBI Deputy Assistant Director James Barnacle. In the conversation, they explored how these sophisticated operations have evolved, the role of forced labor in scam compounds, and the importance of public-private partnerships in combating these crimes.
Barnacle highlighted the FBI’s Level Up initiative, which has successfully intervened with thousands of potential victims before they lost additional funds. The discussion also emphasized how cryptocurrency’s transparency enables law enforcement to trace funds and identify scam networks — a capability that traditional payment systems lack. This traceability has been crucial in helping authorities understand the full supply chain of pig butchering operations, from initial victim contact through money laundering.
The role of Huione and AI technology
The interconnected nature of Southeast Asia’s scam ecosystem means these operations often rely on service providers like Huione, which FinCEN targeted in October 2025. Huione has processed nearly $100 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since 2021 and serves as a one-stop-shop for scammers’ needs — from AI-powered tools that help create fake personas to money laundering services that obfuscate illicit proceeds.
Chainalysis research has identified that scam technology vendors collectively received at least $375.9 million in cryptocurrency in 2024, with AI service vendors seeing a staggering 1,900% compound annual growth rate from 2021 through 2024. These AI tools enable scammers to create realistic fake identities, generate convincing content, and scale their operations to target more victims simultaneously.
Supporting law enforcement investigations
Chainalysis has played a critical role in supporting the government agencies that make up the Scam Center Strike Force, as well as law enforcement agencies worldwide in their efforts to combat pig butchering scams. Through our blockchain intelligence platform, investigators can trace cryptocurrency flows from victim deposits through complex laundering networks to identify scam operators, seize stolen funds, and build cases for prosecution.
Our technology has enabled authorities to map the infrastructure of scam operations, connecting fraudulent platforms to their operators, technology providers, money launderers, and service providers like Huione. By identifying patterns in how scammers move funds and linking cryptocurrency addresses to real-world entities, Chainalysis helps investigators dismantle these networks and recover assets for victims. The Strike Force’s success in seizing over $401 million in cryptocurrency demonstrates the effectiveness of this blockchain intelligence in taking action against transnational scam operations.
Combating scams with advanced technology
As scammers increasingly leverage AI technology to scale their operations, the fight against these crimes requires equally sophisticated tools. Chainalysis Alterya combines blockchain intelligence with AI-powered fraud detection to help identify and prevent scams in real-time.
Financial institutions and cryptocurrency businesses can identify suspicious patterns, flag potential scam transactions before funds are lost, and protect their customers from pig butchering and other cryptocurrency fraud schemes.
Impact on cryptocurrency compliance
Businesses should remain vigilant for transactions involving the newly designated entities and individuals. Organizations should screen all counterparties against updated OFAC sanctions lists, monitor for behavioral patterns consistent with pig butchering scams, as well as the technology, and laundering behind it, and implement enhanced due diligence for customers making large deposits to unfamiliar platforms.
The establishment of the Scam Center Strike Force signals that U.S. authorities are taking a more coordinated, aggressive approach to disrupting these operations. With over $401 million already seized and active operations targeting both scam compound leadership and the U.S. infrastructure they exploit, the Strike Force represents a multi-pronged strategy to protect Americans from these schemes.
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