DOJ Freezes $701M in Crypto Tied to Investment Scams Targeting Americans - Crypto Economy

TL;DR:

• The DOJ froze over $701 million in cryptocurrencies linked to investment scams targeting U.S. citizens.
• The operation also seized a Telegram channel used to recruit victims and took down 503 fake crypto investment websites.
• Arrest warrants were issued against two Chinese nationals accused of running a fraud operation in Burma.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it froze over $701 million in cryptocurrencies associated with investment scams targeting U.S. citizens. The operation was carried out by the Scam Center Strike Force alongside its law enforcement partners, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The funds were frozen through voluntary actions by various crypto exchanges and formal legal proceedings.

“The Scam Center Strike Force continues its work to identify, seize, and forfeit funds involved in scam-related money laundering, so they can be returned to victims whenever possible,” the official statement read. The frozen amount takes on additional significance given the executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Fund financed with confiscated cryptocurrencies.


Crypto Fraud Networks Dismantled Across Multiple Continents

In addition to freezing funds, the DOJ operation included the seizure of a Telegram channel used to recruit job seekers into a crypto scam center in Cambodia 503 fake investment websites were also taken down — sites that lured victims into depositing cryptocurrencies — and replaced with pages informing users of the law enforcement action.

Criminal complaints and arrest warrants against two Chinese nationals, Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie, were also unsealed. Both are accused of running a fraud operation at the Shunda compound in Burma, a territory seized by the Karen National Liberation Army in November 2025. The State Department offered a $10 million reward for information that would help dismantle the Tai Chang scam centers in that country.


Meanwhile, Singapore Police carried out a month-long operation between March 16 and April 15 alongside exchanges such as Coinbase, Gemini, and Coinhako, and blockchain analytics firms including Chainalysis and TRM Labs, which prevented losses exceeding $2.86 million. For its part, the FBI reported in April having received over one million complaints during 2025, with total cybercrime losses exceeding $21 billion.