DOJ Charges Two Chinese Nationals in Overseas Cryptocurrency Scam

Two Chinese nationals are facing U.S. federal charges in connection with an overseas cryptocurrency scam after an investigation by the DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force uncovered the scheme that stole millions of dollars from victims, some of whom were Americans.

Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie were arrested in Thailand, following allegations the pair was linked to "cryptocurrency investment fraud operations" from the Shunda compound in Burma, until it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma in November 2025.

The compound committed fraud, including against Americans, by creating apps and websites that posed as legitimate investment platforms.

"We have charged Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma where thousands were trafficked, enslaved, beaten and then forced to steal from Americans for years. We have seized also a Telegram channel, and that channel was luring workers into a forced compound in Cambodia," U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said. "There they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks, as the New York City Police Department, to steal Americans’ life savings."

Both Xingshan and Wen Jie were charged with wire fraud conspiracy. The U.S. is currently working on extraditing Xingshan and Wen Jie to the America.

According to the investigation, Xingshan was allegedly a high-level enforcer at the compound. He physically punished trafficked workers. Wen Jie allegedly was involved in defrauding one American of $3 million.

"We have taken down more than 500 websites used to steal people’s savings," Pirro said. "And my Office continues to work to identify funds stolen from victims, having now caused restraint of more than $700 million in cryptocurrency involved in money laundering from U.S. victims of fraud."

The Department of Treasury and the State Department announced coordinated interagency action, including sanctions against Cambodia and rewards for information on the Tai Chang scam center in Burma.

"Eliminating fraud is a top priority for the Trump Administration,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement. "Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are."

The Telegram channel the DOJ seized had more than 6,000 followers and was used to lure individuals to Cambodia, under the pretenses of a high-paying job. Pirro asked Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov to shut down the channel.

"Now, the workers, though, who responded to these jobs, they end up posing as banks, as police officers, as prosecutors," Pirro said. "They sound like Americans, directing Americans to fork over their money or be prosecuted. They have backgrounds and backdrops where they actually look like they are from an official agency."

According to Pirro, both cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud is "among the fastest growing and the most financially devastating form of cybercrime that is targeting Americans today."

Investment scams were the most commonly reported crime in 2023, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, with cryptocurrency investment fraud accounting for 83 percent of those scams. Reported losses in 2025 were more than $7.2 million, up from $3.96 billion in 2023.

"This Administration is lock-step in combatting these scams, and we are not done," Pirro said.