Wed Oct 15 07:40:00 UTC 2025: **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
**U.S. Seizes $15 Billion in Bitcoin Linked to Southeast Asia Forced Labor Crypto Scam**
**Washington D.C. –** Federal authorities have seized approximately $15 billion worth of Bitcoin in what officials are calling the largest cryptocurrency forfeiture action in Department of Justice history. The seizure is linked to an alleged global fraud and money laundering scheme orchestrated by Chen Vincent Zhi, 37, who is accused of running a vast network of forced labor compounds in Cambodia that defrauded victims worldwide.
According to an indictment unsealed on Monday, Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, allegedly built a criminal enterprise that coerced trafficked workers into running “pig butchering” scams – fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes targeting individuals in the United States and across the globe.
The Department of the Treasury has designated the Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization, sanctioning the group and its associated entities along with the United Kingdom. Prosecutors allege that the group lured workers with fake job offers, then held them against their will in prison-like compounds, forcing them to perpetrate online fraud under threat of violence.
“As alleged, the defendant was the mastermind behind a sprawling cyber-fraud empire operating under the Prince Group umbrella, a criminal enterprise built on human suffering,” said Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg. “Trafficked workers were confined in prison-like compounds and forced to carry out online scams on an industrial scale, preying on thousands worldwide, including many here in the United States.”
The indictment details how victims were lured into fake romantic relationships before being persuaded to invest large sums into fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms. The Prince Group allegedly used sophisticated cryptocurrency laundering techniques, including “spraying” and “funneling,” to obscure the source of their ill-gotten gains.
Prosecutors also allege that Zhi and his associates used the proceeds from the schemes to fund a lavish lifestyle, purchasing luxury items such as watches, yachts, private jets, vacation homes, and rare artwork, including a Picasso painting.
Zhi is also accused of using his political influence and paying bribes to public officials to protect his criminal enterprise. A network operating in Brooklyn, New York, allegedly laundered millions of dollars on behalf of the Prince Group from over 250 victims across the country.
Authorities are seeking court approval to permanently seize the 127,271 Bitcoin, currently valued at approximately $15 billion. Zhi remains at large and is believed to be in Cambodia. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
First Piper 