(NewsNation) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) says it has seized the most money its ever recovered in one action in targeting an alleged Colombian scammer.
The department says it took $15 billion worth of bitcoin from an operation run by Chen Zhi, 37, who they say also goes by Vincent. Zhi has not been taken into custody.
Zhi runs the Prince Group organization in Colombia, and the department alleges the company operated in 30 countries as a real estate and financial company in the light and a crime syndicate in the dark.
Woman still unknown in abduction caught on camera
Prince Group allegedly forced an untold number of employees to contact unwitting victims electronically with promises to grow their net worth if they handed over bitcoin. The victims never received payments, and DOJ says that the money was then laundered.
It recovered 127,271 bitcoin, according to the announcement.
“By dismantling a criminal empire built on forced labor and deception, we are sending a clear message that the United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims, recover stolen assets, and bring to justice those who exploit the vulnerable for profit,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
The Justice Department estimates there were at least 250 American victims. In addition to the charges, the department announced the U.S. and U.K. have levied sanctions on Prince Group.
Zhi is charged with wire fraud and money laundering and faces 40 years behind bars.
What is pig butchering?
Pig butchering is a scam where someone is contacted electronically and asked to turn over money, usually cryptocurrency, with the promise of being repaid in full or more. Sometimes the scammers say the money is going to an urgent need, like life-saving surgery.
The victims are called “pigs” because scammers will “fatten them up” with emotional pleas and even allow what appears to be a genuine bond to form before asking for money.
Sometimes they will ask for and receive money from the same victim multiple times.
It’s prevalent in the online dating world. Shreya Datta told NewsNation she lost $500,000 to someone she conversed with on the dating app Hinge.
“I thought it was definitely the beginnings of a very deep romantic connection,” Datta explained. “Now, you have to understand that the scammers are very sophisticated. I wasn’t scammed by a person. I was scammed by an organization. So they have the perfect script to psychologically kind of hack you and they have the technology to make it seem very believable.”
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