On October 14, the DOJ announced the unsealing of an indictment charging a Cambodian national as the leader of a transnational criminal organization (TCO) that allegedly operated “forced-labor scam compounds” in Cambodia.

The indictment alleged the organization directed workers to carry out cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes — commonly known as “pig butchering” — that targeted consumers in the U.S. and globally, resulting in billions of dollars in losses. Specifically, the indictment alleged the organization’s leadership conspired to commit wire fraud and launder the proceeds through professional money laundering operations and the organization’s network of businesses, including online gambling and cryptocurrency mining.

The DOJ also filed a civil forfeiture complaint that sought the seizure of about 127,271 bitcoin, which the DOJ valued at approximately $15 billion, alleged to be proceeds of the cryptocurrency investment fraud and money laundering schemes. The complaint detailed the use of sophisticated laundering techniques, including “spraying” large volumes of cryptocurrency across numerous wallets and then “funneling” the cryptocurrency by reconsolidating it into a few wallets to conceal the origin of funds. The DOJ stated that this was “the largest forfeiture action” in the Department’s history.

In addition, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that they designated the organization as a TCO and sanctioned 146 targets within the organization. The Treasury noted that these moves came as part of complementary actions by the U.S. and the UK to hold criminal networks accountable for targeting consumers using online scams. The announcement also mentioned that FinCEN had finalized a rule severing a separate financial conglomerate from the U.S. financial system for laundering billions of dollars in proceeds from virtual currency scams and cyber heists, including those perpetrated by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and TCOs in Southeast Asia. FinCEN determined this group had laundered at least $4 billion in “illicit proceeds” between August 2021 and January 2025.