The Justice Department has seized $15 billion in bitcoin from a global “pig butchering” fraud operation that a Chinese-born businessman orchestrated with forced-labor camps in Cambodia — using the ill-gotten gains to snap up artwork, luxury watches and pricey real estate.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday charged 37-year-old Chen “Vincent” Zhi, the founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group — with alleged wire fraud, bribery, and money laundering conspiracy stretching over the past decade.
Authorities allege Chen directed “phone farms” in Cambodia where trafficked workers were forced to execute what the DOJ called “pig butchering” — slang for a scam that lures “fattened up” victims online with pleas for financial help, fake romantic relationships or promises of lucrative crypto investments. READ MORE
