Quick Breakdown
- U.S. prosecutors charge Prince Group’s founder over a massive crypto investment fraud scheme.
- The operation allegedly laundered billions through forced-labour scam compounds in Cambodia.
- DOJ calls it one of the largest crypto-related fraud and forfeiture cases in U.S. history.
The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed a sweeping indictment against the founder and chairman of Prince Group, Chen Zhi, a Cambodia-based conglomerate accused of orchestrating one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud and forced-labour operations in modern history.
Massive crypto investment scam uncovered
According to court documents, since 2015, the defendant led Prince Group’s expansion into an underground empire that secretly operated large-scale crypto investment scams across Asia. Under the guise of legitimate real estate and financial services, the company allegedly defrauded thousands of investors worldwide through sophisticated social media and messaging app schemes.
Victims were lured with promises of high crypto returns and legitimate trading opportunities, only to have their digital assets stolen and laundered through an intricate global network.
Forced labour compounds and global victims
Beyond financial fraud, prosecutors revealed that the criminal operation relied on human trafficking and forced labour. Hundreds of workers were reportedly trafficked and detained in heavily fortified compounds in Cambodia, where they were forced to execute the scams under threats of violence.
These compounds functioned as “crypto scam factories,” complete with dormitories, barbed wire fences, and “phone farms” — large networks of mobile devices used to contact and deceive victims. Evidence seized from the group includes ledgers of profits, internal records linking fraudulent activity to specific rooms, and disturbing images of physical abuse used to control workers.
“Crimes That Will Not Pay,” Says DOJ
John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, described the forfeiture as “the largest in Department history,” underscoring the DOJ’s determination to dismantle transnational crypto crime. U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. called the case “a global epidemic of fraud and exploitation,” pledging to hold perpetrators accountable “no matter where they are.”
In a related advisory, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned of a new wave of scams in which fraudsters pose as lawyers claiming to help victims recover stolen crypto funds — only to defraud them again. The agency urges individuals to verify any supposed legal representatives and report suspicious activity immediately.
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